Standard Solar installs 753kW carport PV system at Maryland community college

Standard Solar is calling its new 753kW carport PV system at Maryland’s Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) the largest PV system of its kind in Maryland and one of the biggest PV carport systems on the East Coast. Using a Protek Park PV canopy system, the solar installation will be built on top of the community college’s parking structure. Suniva will provide over 3,100 solar panels for the project, which is anticipated to generate around one million kilowatt hours of electricity in its first operational year.

“We see this as an important step forward in our commitment to cost-effective renewable energy. This system will provide about 5% of the college’s total electrical need, and we are excited to continue moving in this direction,” said AACC President Dr. Martha Smith. The AACC installation will have a monitoring system, which will have a corresponding website where all system photos, historical electricity production data, carbon offset equivalencies and custom reporting capabilities will be available.

AACC is a Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) Project Sunburst partner and was eligible for a US$750,000 grant from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). Washington Gas Energy Services (WGES) provided the remaining financial balance necessary for the implementation of the system and will own and operate the system once completed. WGES intends to sell the electricity to AACC under a 15-year PPA, therefore allowing AACC to host the solar project on its property without incurring any capital outlay.

This is the second solar PV system that Standard Solar and WGES have collaborated on under MEA’s Project Sunburst.