It takes a lot of courage to deviate from the norm. However, Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, is reaping the benefits of trying something new and different. The college recently partnered with Honeywell on a power purchase agreement, the first of its kind for a college or university in Oregon, that is saving the school at least $200,000 in energy costs over the next twenty years. Under the agreement, Honeywell installed solar panels on the roof of the institution’s Pamplin Sports Center and is selling the electricity the panels produce to the college.
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“This project benefits the college and our community in many ways,” said Thomas Hochstettler, president of Lewis & Clark College, an ACUPCC signatory. “It supports our vision toward sustainability, offers our students the opportunity to learn about green technology, and serves as a model for what I hope are many more projects like this all over Oregon. It’s a great example in which the environment wins while the education and business sectors thrive.”
The panels generate more than 97,000 kWh of electricity annually and produce enough power to meet about 15 percent of the electricity needs for a facility like the Pamplin Sports Center. And they deliver environmental benefits, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 1.8 million pounds over the course of the twenty-year agreement. According to figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this is equivalent to removing more than 180 cars from the road for a year.
In addition to cost and environmental benefits, the solar installation provides an educational tool that faculty use to teach students about renewable energy and conservation. Professors and students are able to see the real-time electrical output of the solar technology through a Web portal and learn how the system operates.
Energy Trust of Oregon, a public-purpose organization that promotes the use of efficient energy technologies and renewable resources, helped fund part of the project. Honeywell also worked with Advanced Energy Systems, an Energy Trust Trade Ally based in Eugene, Oregon, to install the solar panels.
“This type of agreement is a financially viable way for organizations to go green,” says Kacia Brockman, solar program manager for Energy Trust of Oregon. “Lewis & Clark is leading the way for other schools and creating advocates for solar energy in the process.”
The Honeywell project is a significant example of the college‘s commitment to the environment. Along with being part of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), Lewis & Clark faculty and students founded the Focus the Nation environmental initiative, a one-day national “teach-in” aimed at bringing academia and government together to find global warming solutions. The college also meets more than 30 percent of its electrical energy requirements through a grassroots renewable energy advocacy program that funds the use of green power through voluntary student donations.
