Houghton College plans to begin construction on 11 acres of solar panels in the Field of Dreams at the end of next week in hopes of reducing electrical costs by half. A grant for a fully funded and operated solar array, given to Houghton College by Groundwater and Environmental Services (GES), will generate roughly three million kilowatt hours of electricity per year; this is equivalent to fueling electricity to 400 homes for a year.
The process started about two years ago with Brian Webb, Houghton College’s Sustainability Coordinator. As per his job title, Webb looks for ways to “be good stewards of the environment and achieve as many renewable energy options as we can,” one of these options he has chosen to pursue has been the installation of the solar array. The installation of the solar array will reduce the college’s carbon footprint by 23% each year by the use of natural sunlight.
GES and Houghton have agreed on a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA, that will save the college anywhere from $1 to $3 million over the course of the years. The process of the PPA is as follows: GES operates the solar array while the college pays for the energy at a set amount and receives the energy generated. Rochester Gas and Electric (RGE) will then buy the energy generated from Houghton at market rates.
According to Webb, “There are few issues more important than how we, in the twenty-first century, treat the natural environment.”
“But at what cost?” asks, Katherine Tomlinson, one of Houghton College’s Eco-Representatives. Students like Tomlinson question, not just the monetary cost of the solar array, but also the environmental cost such as the habitats that will be affected in the marshland where the panels will be placed.
Nonetheless, the The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) affirms that Houghton College will not only have the largest solar array in Western New York, but the largest on-campus solar array in the country. Webb said, “People will recognize Houghton as a school that is willing to make efforts towards clean energy and students can learn first-hand how to promote it.”
The road used to access the solar array will extend from the trail, and will not interfere with the athletic fields, during or after construction. Construction of the array will continue through to the end of January. After construction, GES and RGE will work with Houghton activate the panels so they will be ready for use by early spring.