SolarCity and Direct Energy Business plan to work together to install a 13.6 MW solar power project for Johns Hopkins Medicine that will offset about 18% of the total energy used to power its facilities.
Given the lack of roof or ground space on current facilities, Johns Hopkins chose a remote solar arrangement, in cooperation with PJM Interconnection. The solar installation will feature more than 40,000 solar panels across a 97-acre plot of land in Wye Mills, part of Queen Anne’s County, Md.
SolarCity will install and maintain the project, while Direct Energy Business will handle financing and management.
‘As a total energy management service provider, we are able to offer an energy solution that helps Johns Hopkins meet its procurement needs while also hedging against future rate increases,’ says John Schultz, president of Direct Energy Business.
The solar system is expected to avoid the emission of 1.4 million metric tons of CO2 over the next 20 years. In two decades, the system will also produce the energy equivalent to powering more than 180,000 homes for a year, according to calculations from the Environmental Protection Agency.
OneEnergy Renewables located the site and led the pre-construction development work.
This project, Johns Hopkins’ first solar venture, is expected to be completed and operational within the first half of the year and will serve the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Campus.
