The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) today inaugurated a 2.2-megawatt (MW) solar farm that will meet 15 percent of campus electricity needs.

Covering 17 acres of land previously used for agricultural research, the 7,800-panel solar array is the “largest concentration of photovoltaic modules on one site” in all of Maryland, according to the press release. In its first year of operation, it should generate 3.3 million kilowatt hours (kWh) — roughly the equivalent annual demand of 300 typical American houses.

Like most larger-scale solar installations, the University of Maryland’s 2.2-MW array was completed by way of a power purchase agreement (PPA). SunEdison — a large PPA provider headquartered in Beltsville, MD — engineered and installed the system at no up-front cost to UMES or the state of Maryland.

According to the terms of the agreement, UMES will in turn purchase the electricity generated by the system at a predictable rate and use it to offset the university’s demand from the electricity grid. Here’s more from a press statement:

Kirwan described the UMES-SunEdison partnership as mutually beneficial since the state had no upfront investment.  “Perhaps most importantly, the people of Maryland will reap the enormous benefit of having literally millions of pounds of pollutants not released into the atmosphere as this power is generated,” Kirwan said.

It bears noting that the University of Maryland system is no stranger to solar power: earlier this year, University of Maryland College Park announced it would install a bit rooftop solar energy system. It also bears noting that installing solar panels doesn’t only make sense for Maryland schools — homeowners, too, can slash their electric bills by going solar. Maryland residents are aided by a solar energy grant program and a solar renewable energy credit (SREC) program, both which make solar energy financially more attractive. Feel free to contact us if you’ve got questions about either of these programs.

Handout photo via The Baltimore Sun.