| The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), the nation's largest community college district, today
announced a precedent-setting plan to produce enough of its own
electricity to take its nine campuses "off the power grid." The LACCD
believes that it is the first community college district in the nation
to plan to generate all its own electricity. The initial plan is to
build enough photovoltaic panels (sometimes known as "solar energy
cells") to produce one megawatt of electricity at each of its nine
colleges.
The announcement was made at the Solar Power 2006 conference in San
Jose, organized by the Solar Electric Power and Solar Energy Industries
Associations. The one megawatt per campus program is part of the
LACCD's Energy Strategy Plan, which includes plans for a renewable
energy Central Plant; performance conservation efficiency contracts; and
a sustainability curriculum for its nine Los Angeles-area colleges.
The nine colleges of the LACCD use, on average, less than one megawatt
per campus, so self-generating that amount through the use of
photovoltaic panels will provide enough electricity to meet all daytime
requirements. Future plans call for using excess electrical energy to
convert water into oxygen and hydrogen, and to use the hydrogen in the
evening to power fuel cells for electricity on campus. According to the
California Energy Commission, one megawatt is enough energy to power
1,000 average California homes.
Installation of the solar panels at the colleges-set to be completed in
2008-is expected to cost between $7 and $9 million. A Request for
Proposals will be issued within the next four weeks for the contracts to
install solar panels at the nine campuses.
For technical information contact: Mr. Bharat Patel at (213) 593-8250 or email at bharat.patel@dmjmjgm.com
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