Houghton College has completed its 2.5 megawatt on-site solar energy installation, which officials say is currently the largest on a college campus in New York State.
The college also says the array will provide enough energy to meet more than half of the school’s electricity needs, significantly reduce its energy costs and have a long-lasting positive environmental impact.
The system will generate an estimated 3.15 million kilowatt hours of electricity in its first year of operation—the equivalent amount of energy needed to power 370 homes annually—and will allow the college to realize a 23 percent first-year greenhouse gas reduction and save up to $4.3 million during the 25-year power purchase agreement contract period.
The project was designed and built by Borrego Solar Systems and financed by WGL Energy.
Houghton was awarded funding through NY-Sun, part of Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative. NY-Sun is administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
