University of Pittsburgh to Build 20MW Solar Farm

The University of Pittsburgh recently began construction on a 20-megawatt solar farm that, once complete, will provide 100 percent of its electricity to the campus for the next twenty years, according to a university news release. The Gaucho Solar project will cover 68 acres near the Pittsburgh International Airport, use more than 55,000 solar panels, and is scheduled for completion in 2023.

The farm is estimated to produce about 35,700 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, or about 18 percent of the campus’ annual energy use. In conjunction with the university’s commitment to hydropower solutions, about 42 percent of the campus’ future electricity use will come from local, renewable sources, the news release reports.

The university is partnering with Vesper Energy to make the project a reality. The contract terms dictate that the university will directly purchase clean energy with no upfront capital or maintenance costs, as well as provide price certainty for the duration of the contract.

“The University of Pittsburgh is fully committed to achieving carbon neutrality for our Pittsburgh campus by 2037, with local, renewable energy getting us one-third of the way there,” said Aurora Sharrard, University of Pittsburgh executive director of sustainability. “We are very excited for Vesper’s Gaucho Solar facility to be the largest contributing renewable asset to date for the university’s goals of producing or procuring 50 percent of our total Pittsburgh campus electricity from renewables by 2030 and 100 percent by 2037.”

The solar farm will also feature pollinator-friendly landscaping and an observation area for educational use.

Vesper Energy is proud to partner with the University of Pittsburgh to help achieve their goal of 100 percent renewable electricity powering the campus,” said Vesper Energy CEO Craig Carson. “Gaucho Solar is our first project to reach construction in the Keystone State. With great partners like the University of Pittsburgh, we plan to bring more clean energy projects online in Pennsylvania in the near future.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • MiEN Releases White Paper on Community College Space Innovation

    MiEN Company recently released a new white paper called “Designing New Innovative Spaces for Community Colleges” to address the needs of community colleges post-pandemic, according to a news release. The eight-page guide by Dr. Christina Counts, MiEN Company VP of Education and Marketing, covers topics like the enrollment drop that these schools have seen since COVID-19, the roles they play in higher education and local workforces, and five suggested key changes that can improve students’ experiences.

  • Design Firm Populous Acquires Fentress Architects

    Design firm Populous, which specializes in sports and entertainment venues, recently announced its acquisition of Fentress Architects, based in Denver, Colo., according to a news release. Fentress’ primary focus is aviation projects and public buildings like museums, convention centers, and government facilities

  • Tennant Company Launches Autonomous Floor Scrubber

    Cleaning equipment and solutions provider Tennant Company recently launched the new X6 ROVR, a mid-sized robotic scrubber designed for large commercial and light-industrial environments, according to a news release. The autonomous machine can clean up to 75,000 square feet peer cycle with minimal needs for manual assistance.

  • Key Considerations for Office-to-Higher-Education Facility Conversions

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, office-to-alternative-use conversions have become a recurring subject of urban development discourse. Office utilization rates across major U.S. cities remain below 50%, with vacancy rates exceeding 27% in San Francisco and 16% in New York. Higher education facilities present programmatic and spatial use cases that align readily with the typical characteristics of commercial office buildings.

Digital Edition