Pennsylvania’s ‘largest’ solar farm bags university PPA deal

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Community Energy's Elizabethtown array, which it developed for Elizabeth Town College in Pennsylvania. Image: Community Energy.

The University of Pennsylvania has signed a long-term power purchase agreement to procure clean electricity from what’s claimed to be the commonwealth’s largest solar project.

The agreement will support the construction of two solar arrays that will have a combined generation capacity of 220MW. That scale, Community Energy said, would be large enough for it to be Pennsylvania's largest operational solar farm.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The project itself will generate enough power to meet around 75% of demand from the university’s academic campus and the University of Pennsylvania Health System. That power is to be sold to the university under a 25-year PPA at rates competitive with the market, project developer Community Energy Inc, said.

Complementing the renewable energy output from an existing wind farm, the solar farms will also play a key role in helping the university progress towards establishing a carbon neutral campus by 2042.

Community Energy is expecting to start construction on the projects next year, with commercial operation slated to begin towards the end of 2022. The PPA is to commence in 2023.

Jay Carlis, executive VP at Community Energy, said the commitment from the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated “impressive and much needed leadership on climate change”, claiming the signed PPA was the “gold standard” for renewable energy procurement.

The development also comes little more than a year after the university’s state rivals Penn State University turned to prolific solar developer Lightsource BP to bring forward 70MW worth of solar projects for its own climate ambitions, projects which have since commenced construction.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

September 5, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Nextracker has launched a new electrical balance of systems (eBOS) trunk connector.
September 5, 2025
During a week of major US clean energy developments, ContourGlobal, PSE, Arevon, and Ameren Missouri advanced solar projects across four states in the US.
September 5, 2025
Newly formed firm Solaris Assets has acquired the business operations and assets of Texas-based residential solar installer Sunnova.
September 5, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Array Technologies has announced that two of its tracking systems are compatible with 2,000V solar systems.
September 4, 2025
India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, the joint forum of the Centre and States, has reduced the GST rate on renewable energy components from 12% to 5%. 
September 4, 2025
Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order to accelerate the permitting of energy generation projects that could be set to lose IRA support.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines