CANTON — St. Lawrence University has entered into a new long-term, solar-energy agreement, which the Canton–based school says will significantly boost the amount of clean energy used to power the campus. St. Lawrence has partnered with AES Distributed Energy and agreed to a 20 year power-purchase agreement (PPA) for a 2.9 megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar […]
CANTON — St. Lawrence University has entered into a new long-term, solar-energy agreement, which the Canton–based school says will significantly boost the amount of clean energy used to power the campus.
St. Lawrence has partnered with AES Distributed Energy and agreed to a 20 year power-purchase agreement (PPA) for a 2.9 megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar system located just outside of Watertown. The PV system, which came online July 18, is expected to produce more than 3 million kilowatt hours per year of clean and renewable energy for the next 20 years.
AES Distributed Energy is a unit of Arlington, Virginia–based AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), according to the company's website.
The school’s purchase of solar power from the 8,600 PV panels equals 18 percent of its total annual electricity consumption. As a result, the solar-array project reduces St. Lawrence’s carbon emissions 15 percent and will avoid more than 2,200 metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalents each year. That’s the equivalent of removing more than 470 cars from the road, St. Lawrence said.
“This partnership enables us to address a portion of St. Lawrence’s campus carbon emissions and allows us to collaboratively demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of commercial solar projects in the North County,” Ryan Kmetz, assistant director of sustainability and energy management, said in a release.
The school contends the solar project bolsters its climate-action plan, which calls for the St. Lawrence University to reach carbon-neutral operations by 2040.
The solar power “complements” St. Lawrence’s existing 20-year hydroelectric PPA with Gravity Renewables for the Kings Falls hydro dam located in Lewis County. The dam and its power-generation unit were damaged by the storm remnants of Hurricane Irene in 2011, but the agreement with St. Lawrence allowed for the refurbishment and repair of the dam, making it operational again in summer 2016.
The Kings Falls facility produces about 1.5 million kilowatt hours of hydroelectricity each year for the school.
“AES and Gravity are terrific partners,” Dan Seaman, chief facilities officer for St. Lawrence, said in the release. “And their production facility designs are expected to provide a steady, reliable source of clean electrical power for many years to come.”
The two projects combined will annually reduce about 3,350 metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions each year. Meanwhile, St. Lawrence University is expected to realize a savings of $1.5 million in energy costs over the next 20 years, the school said.
