HISTORY in making: BUTTE COLLEGE First School in nation to go Grid Positive.
source: http://tinyurl.com/3hz5zzz
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BUTTE VALLEY — Eight years ago, Lou Cecchi, a Butte College trustee, asked the question "Have we ever thought about solar?"
Now, the college has 25,000 solar panels, and on Wednesday it claimed the title of "the first college in United States history to become 'grid positive.'"
"Grid positive," in Butte College's case, means the college now generates electricity worth 102 percent of the cost of the power it gets from PG&E, said Mike Miller, the college's director of facilities, planning and management.
So, instead of paying an electric bill, Butte College now gets paid by PG&E.
Cecchi, a member of the Butte College Board of Trustees, asked his question at a 2003 meeting of the board.
After that, trustees and other college officials began looking into the possibility of installing solar panels on the campus to produce electric power.
On Wednesday, a ceremony was held on the main campus to mark the completion of the college's solar-power project.
"We never set out to make history," said college President Diana Van Der Ploeg. "We just knew it made sense."
Jack Scott, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, spoke at the event.
"I really congratulate Butte College," he said, adding that at a time when higher education in the state feels an intense financial squeeze, "This is a terrific way to cut costs."
The college's arrays of solar panels will generate more than 6.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year — enough to power more than 9,200 homes, officials said.
http://tinyurl.com/3hz5zzz
Now, the college has 25,000 solar panels, and on Wednesday it claimed the title of "the first college in United States history to become 'grid positive.'"
"Grid positive," in Butte College's case, means the college now generates electricity worth 102 percent of the cost of the power it gets from PG&E, said Mike Miller, the college's director of facilities, planning and management.
So, instead of paying an electric bill, Butte College now gets paid by PG&E.
Cecchi, a member of the Butte College Board of Trustees, asked his question at a 2003 meeting of the board.
After that, trustees and other college officials began looking into the possibility of installing solar panels on the campus to produce electric power.
On Wednesday, a ceremony was held on the main campus to mark the completion of the college's solar-power project.
"We never set out to make history," said college President Diana Van Der Ploeg. "We just knew it made sense."
Jack Scott, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, spoke at the event.
"I really congratulate Butte College," he said, adding that at a time when higher education in the state feels an intense financial squeeze, "This is a terrific way to cut costs."
The college's arrays of solar panels will generate more than 6.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year — enough to power more than 9,200 homes, officials said.
http://tinyurl.com/3hz5zzz
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- Energy, College, Conservation, Solar Power, 1 more
