Constellation and Community College of Baltimore Begin Solar Project

By the end of this year, the Community College of Baltimore County should be securing about a quarter of all its elctricity needs from solar power.

Constellation has begun the construction of a 5.1-megawatt (DC) solar generation project to serve the college’s three main campuses in Dundalk, Essex and Catonsville. This zero-emissions system will allow the college to demonstrate the viability of clean energy resources while also providing 10 charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles to students, faculty and our local community.

The solar power system is composed of approximately 16,500 photovoltaic panels located on carports across the campuses and will cover more than 1,400 parking spaces. It’s expected to generate approximately 6.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, meeting 27 percent of the college’s electricity needs. Generating the same amount of electricity using nonrenewable sources would result in the release of approximately 4,482 tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent emissions from 944 passenger vehicles annually, according to U.S. EPA data for the region.
 
“This solar power system supports our mission of promoting sustainable initiatives on campus and educating and engaging students in environmentally sound practices,” said CCBC President Sandra L. Kurtinitis. “An important added benefit is the ability to better manage our energy costs.”
 
The project expands our role as the No. 1 solar energy producer in Maryland. To date, we have completed 28.5 megawatts of solar projects in the state and expect to have an additional 30 megawatts operational by the end of 2015.
 
Constellation will own and operate the CCBC solar power systems. CCBC will purchase the electricity generated by the solar panels from Constellation under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

By structuring its solar projects as power purchase agreements or solar services agreements, Constellation offers solar installations that may require no upfront capital from customers and may provide fixed power costs that are less than projected market rates. To learn more about other solar power solutions for businesses, colleges, universities and government entities, contact us today.