While President Obama only gave a cursory comment about the role of solar and wind in our energy future in his remarks this morning, these industries continue to move forward with completion of renewable electricity projects. Today, Constellation Energy announced that its subsidiary, Constellation Energy’s Projects & Services Group, has completed the installation of a 1.2 megawatt solar and wind power system at the University of Toledo’s Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation in Toledo, Ohio. The campus will use the wind and solar project for two purposes: sustainable energy and offer students first-hand experience in renewable energy technologies.
“The creation and production of clean, renewable energy sources is vital to the way we power our world. That’s why The University of Toledo created the Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation,” said UT President Dr. Lloyd Jacobs. “Our relationship with Constellation Energy for the solar and wind electric generation systems on that campus will help students and researchers advance the technology that will power our future.”
The project utilizes thin-film-on-glass photovoltaic solar technology that was originally developed based on the University’s own research. Constellation Energy’s Projects & Services Group also installed a 132-foot wind turbine at the site. Together, the solar and wind systems are annually expected to generate the power equivalent to the amount of electricity used by 140 homes in a year. Generating that same amount of electricity using non-renewable sources would result in the release of more than 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and the equivalent of the emissions from 200 passenger vehicles per year.
Constellation Energy finances, designs, constructs and owns these solar installations and supplies power generated on-site to the customer over a period of 15 to 20 years. This creates an attractive and affordable model that requires no upfront capital from customers, such as The University of Toledo, and reduces customers’ use of power from the electrical grid and associated carbon emissions.