Ualbany expands green energy push
Solar array will supply large share of electricity needed for Emerging Technology site
The University at Albany and the New York Power Authority last week began construction on an approximately 1.8 megawatt solar project that will cover nearly all the campus’ available Academic Podium roof space. It will supply 60 percent of the estimated electricity used by the new Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex or ETEC building on the neighboring Harriman Campus.
Construction started last week on the Fine Arts Building and seven of the roofs of the Academic Podium, which consists of academic and administrative buildings around a large open courtyard with two fountains.
The Academic Podium solar PV project is one of the many projects in the comprehensive energy master plan that Ualbany is implementing to reduce its energy and carbon footprint in keeping with statewide goals set out in a 2019 law.
“As part of our Climate Action and Sustainability Plan, the University at Albany has committed to an ambitious goal of reducing our carbon footprint by 40 percent by 2030,” Ualbany President Havidán Rodríguez said.
The New York Power Authority, or NYPA, is a public authority that operates hydroelectric power plants and other sources of renewable energy around the
state.
“This unique Podium rooftop project will showcase a creative solar solution that will make a state-of-the-art building even more sustainable while addressing climate change and moving our state closer to achieving its ambitious clean energy goals,” said NYPA President and CEO Gil C. Quiniones. The new systems will provide for the electricity needs of the $180 million ETEC building expected to open this summer. Designed as a hub for innovation, scholarship, applied research and commercial development, ETEC aims to help foster cross-disciplinary collaborations to confront complex problems.
Students, faculty and researchers will work with entrepreneurs to fuel economic growth and create jobs in key industries such as emergency preparedness, climate, weather and resiliency. The benefits will help the ETEC building achieve a Platinum LEED certification, the highest LEED rating for sustainable design. Several other campus buildings have already received LEED certification. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating system that measures a building’s sustainability and resource-efficiency.
Buffalo-based Solar Liberty is supplying the panels.
The project will be hosted by the campus, and Ualbany will purchase all electricity and renewable energy credits produced through a power purchase agreement. The 4,783-panel system in the first year should offset more than 3.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from 1.8 million pounds of coal burned. The project will expand on a 49.8 kilowatt system on the Social Sciences roof installed in 2011 and a 27 kilowatt system on Campus Center West expansion roof installed in 2017.