The College of New Jersey hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning to energize 2 MW of solar across five solar arrays in parking lots and on building roofs across campus.
Greenskies Clean Focus funded the projects at no upfront cost to TCNJ, who will purchase the power generated by the arrays from Greenskies at a low, fixed rate for the next fifteen years. Greenskies will also provide ongoing management and maintenance.
In total, nearly 5,000 solar photovoltaic panels were installed on the rooftops at:
- Brower Student Center (341 kW)
- Packer Hall (137.8 kW)
- Armstrong Hall (338.3 kW)
- Decker Hall (142.9 kW)
- Canopy carports in parking lots 4 and 5 (1,115.6 kW)
All the energy acquired from the new solar arrays will be used to power the campus and reduce the energy costs for the college. It is estimated that the college will save over $408,000 annually.
Credit: Anthony DePrimo
“This is an important milestone in the college’s progress toward carbon neutrality and when combined with our other efforts to reduce demand through energy conservation will assure both the sustainability and resiliency of the college for the world our students will advance,” said Paul Romano, senior director, sustainability and energy management at TCNJ.
TCNJ partnered with Greenskies through a carefully vetted process and short list of potential vendors developed by the New Jersey Department of Treasury as potential entities capable of handling this critical work.
“I want to thank the professionals at Treasury’s Division of Property Management and Construction and the Division of Purchase and Property for their hard work and foresight in developing a state contract that allows institutions such as TCNJ to lower their energy costs, while reducing their reliance on fossil fuels,” said Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio. “Our institutions of higher education play a critical role in achieving the Murphy administration’s goal of making New Jersey 100% powered by clean energy by 2035, and we congratulate TCNJ for their leadership in taking this critically important step today.”
News item from Greenskies Clean Focus
