(USA)
An American university has agreed a 25-year deal to purchase the entire output of a solar energy plant.
The University of Virginia (UVA) will get 9% of its electricity needs from the yet-to-be-built facility after signing on the dotted line with developers Coronal Energy and owner, Dominion Energy, the company constructing the site.
“Once again UVA is providing public sector leadership on carbon emission reduction and renewable power generation in Virginia,” Governor Terry McAuliffe said.
The institution’s carbon footprint will fall by 15,000 metric tons annually and it will also reduce in excess of 19 metric tons of nitrogen.
Kyle West, vice president for real estate for Coronal Energy, added: “This project is particularly meaningful to a number of us on the team who call Virginia home. We’re delighted to once again partner with Dominion Energy on a groundbreaking solar project, our third major success in the state together. There’s also a fair measure of school pride amongst the many UVA alums who work at Coronal, and who are proud to see our work advance the University’s impressive commitment to reducing the use of fossil fuels.”
Key industry stakeholders are also working to increase the availability of power purchase orders in Europe – as large corporates are using them to accelerate the shift to clean energy.
Michael Terrell, Head of Energy Policy at Google, said: “Since our first power purchase agreement in 2010, Google has signed 20 different renewable energy purchasing deals in five countries totaling 2.6 GW.”
