Perpetual Energy Systems, a national power purchase agreement (PPA) provider and financier of solar energy systems, has activated a 1.1 MW solar energy system at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif.
The system, which marks the achievement of the University's goal of 1.3 MW of solar power installed by 2010, is projected to generate an estimated 1,646,668 kWh of energy in its first full year of operation.
More than 4,500 solar panels are included in the system, which will generate electricity from the rooftops of seven structures on the Caltech Campus – Baxter Hall, Braun Athletic Center, the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, Cahill Center, the Annenberg Center for Information Science and Technology, and the North and South Wilson parking structures.
Caltech entered into a PPA with Perpetual to host the solar installations, enabling Caltech to host solar with no capital outlay. Under the PPA, Caltech will purchase energy produced by each installation at a predetermined, fixed rate. The system is owned and operated by Perpetual, and operations and maintenance of the system are the responsibility of Perpetual.
To fund this project, Perpetual combined conventional financing with federal energy-tax incentives.
SOURCE: Perpetual Energy Systems
