Southern Connecticut State University will begin installing 3,000 solar panels next spring that will generate more than a million kilowatt hours of electricity a year for use at the school.
SCSU is one of three state schools getting solar installations in a deal negotiated by the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, which oversees 17 state institutions of higher learning.
Under the agreement, Current, powered by GE, a General Electric subsidiary that sells energy management systems, and Connecticut Green Bank are providing the panels without any capital investment by or upfront cost to taxpayers, officials said.
“Our partnership with GE and CT Green Bank is a triple bottom line win for the environment, our campus community and for taxpayers,” said Robert Sheeley, SCSU associate vice president of facilities and capital budgeting and chair of the school’s Sustainability Committee. “Ten years ago, we dreamed about projects like this. We’re looking forward to breaking ground next year.”
The panels will be in parking lot 9 near Brownell Hall – some on carports, others on the ground – and on the roof of the Wintergreen garage, officials said. The arrays will feed power to the campus’ west side, home to student living quarters and business offices.
Eric Lessne, associate director for project management and engineering for the CSCU system, estimates that the panels will supply about 4 percent of SCSU’s electricity. The arrays will save the system money because the cost of their electricity is lower than that off the grid, he said.
Manchester and Middlesex community colleges are also getting panels under the program, which CSCU aims to expand in the next two years to at least six more campuses. It is expected to save the system $10 million over the next two decades, officials said.
Christopher Hoffman can be reached at news@newhavenbiz.com
