California is an often open and sunny state, which makes it an ideal place to invest in commercial or residential solar installations. Not only is the state abundant in sunshine, but it also has many incentives that entice homeowners and building owners to have the solar panels installed.
Located along the south western coast of California, the University of California in San Diego offers students bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in dozens of different programs. Not only does the university grant learning opportunities for students and working adults, but it has also become an influence in green initiatives all across the country with their Sustainability 2.0 Initiatives. These ambitions aim to have the school produce zero waste by 2020 and push the globe's climate back to neutrality by 2025 all while training new leaders, according to the university.
As a part of the project, the college hired California solar installers, Borrego Solar, to construct more than 7,000 solar modules across the roof of its La Jolla Campus. The company also placed solar panels on the Birch Aquarium, rooftop parking lots and practically any other location on campus that was able to capture sunlight, according to Borrego.
The d.Blue modules from Kyocera are spread across the 1,200-acre campus and have an energy efficiency of 16 percent, which is one of the highest conversion efficiency ratings within the company's products, according to Kyocera.
The system helps contribute to the university's green habit by reducing carbon emissions by an expected 73 million pounds over the solar installation's lifespan of 30 years. This is equivalent to planting over 600 acres of trees and removing almost 300 cars from the road.
Not only do the panels act as coverage to provide shade during the day, but the panels also cool the buildings and help insulate heat at night, according to a study done by UCSD engineers. The team also calculated that the energy saved by cooling the building, will amount to a discount of five percent on the solar panel installations.
The 1,200 kilowatt system made of 7,290 solar modules creates roughly 160,000 kilowatt-hours per month. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, California's average price per kilowatt-hour was just over 13 cents in February 2011. This means that if the system works at a 75 percent capacity, it is still saving the university over $15,000 a month.
The roughly $9 million project was financed through a solar power purchase agreement (PPA). According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a PPA allows a third-party developer to own, maintain and run the photovoltaic (PV) system while a host company supplies the area for installation. This benefits both parties in which the commercial solar installer is able to receive some of the many benefits for having renewable energy in California, while UCSD is able to experience cheaper electricity prices from the developer that were predetermined by the two organizations.
With the PPA in place, UCSD will not have to worry about fluctuating electricity prices as the amounts will already be determined. The PPA also did not require the university to pay any money up-front, according to the EPA.
"We are grateful to [the solar installers], the PPA provider and Kyocera Solar for their assistance in helping make the solar energy aspect of this project a reality," says David Weil, the assistant director of UCSD facilities management. "[The commercial solar installer's] experience and expertise will allow us to quickly activate the system and maximize its efficiency, and the PPA provided us with a creative financing solution that fits our needs."
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California is an often open and sunny state, which makes it an ideal place to invest in commercial or 
