Stanford will be powered entirely by solar energy by next summer, making it one of the most energy-efficient research universities in the world. Stanford Energy System Innovations (SESI) has been working on Stanford’s transition to renewable energy for the past decade. Its original goal of going 100% solar by late 2021 was delayed by a year due to supply-chain shortages as well as a fire that destroyed a part of the first solar generating station. Currently, the University ranks within the top 10 colleges for using the most renewable energy. Stanford is also positioned “to become the first research university to use 100% renewable electricity, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE),” Lincoln Bleveans, the executive director of Sustainability and Energy Management at Stanford, wrote.
The University’s early solar installations consisted of 5-megawatt rooftop solar panels in 2015 and its first solar generating station in 2016. Stanford Solar Generating Station #1, near Rosamond, Calif., produces 67 megawatts of solar-generated electricity, covering 65% of Stanford’s daytime electricity needs. Stanford signed a contract with Recurrent Energy — a company dedicated to providing clean electricity through solar panels — in 2018 to create its second solar generating station in Kings County. This addition will cover the rest of their electricity needs, according to Land, Buildings and Real Estate vice president Robert Reidy. The University’s power purchase agreement with Recurrent Energy will be in effect for the next 35 years.
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