I recently attended the annual conference hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Hundreds of schools, vendors, and other interested parties came to the conference at the Baltimore Conference Center, which is located adjacent to the city’s picturesque inner harbor. The energy and enthusiasm at the event bode well for where the country’s colleges and universities will lead us on the sustainability front in the years ahead. When students are passionate about changing the energy landscape, colleges must follow suit, and hopefully so will the rest of society.
I attended 11 sessions over the course of two days, most of which were focused on solar energy on campus. More than 220 U.S. colleges and universities have solar installations, ranging in size from small educational systems under 10 KW to Stanford University’s new off-site 67-MW farm. The sessions provided advice and lessons learned to aid colleges in overcoming the hurdles they face when it comes to going solar. Many topics were covered, including how colleges could go about financing a solar power purchase agreement (PPA), how to persuade campus administrations to invest in solar, and what hurdles colleges will encounter by becoming more energy independent.
I had the pleasure of meeting Customer First Renewables CEO Gary Farha after his talk, “Getting It Done–Building a Team and Value Proposition for Large Scale Renewables.” His company has partnered with numerous colleges and universities to facilitate the procurement of renewable energy. One of its partners, Michigan State University, has a 13.5 MW project under way that will be completed by Inovateus next year.
In addition to the excellent networking opportunities, the educational potential of the conference seemed endless. For example, sustainability directors from George Washington University, George Washington University Hospital, and American University described the steps they took to collaborate on a 52 MW solar farm in North Carolina. More colleges and universities may emulate this renewable energy formula in the future for two reasons: First, solar companies are often more eager to do larger projects, and second, because the educational institutions are more likely to come up with the financing when they work together.
Another session I attended focused on the topic of how college endowments are being invested in green initiatives. Studies show that portfolios with assets invested in environmentally friendly causes often perform the same or slightly better than average portfolios. Endowments increasingly include clean energy investments, which are seeing higher returns as the renewable energy market continues to be the fastest-growing energy sector in the country.
The AASHE conference has been one of the highlights of my short time here at Inovateus. A college campus provides a unique incubator of new and innovative ideas that can produce amazing results that can serve humanity. Universities are where youthful optimism meets unfettered intellect. This combination is one reason why colleges and universities have become leaders in the renewable energy movement. At Inovateus, we hope that our Michigan State project will be the first of many successful endeavors in this sector of the clean energy revolution.
By Tim Powers, strategic research administrator, Inovateus Solar
