Caltech reaches installed solar power goal with Perpetual’s 1.1MW installation

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Although the official ceremony to celebrate the installation of the 1.1MW solar energy system installed by Perpetual Energy Systems at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) won’t take place until the end of October, both organizations are celebrating not only the systems completion, but Caltech’s solar milestone. With this installation, Caltech has reached its goal to install 1.3MW of solar power by 2010 and will benefit from 1,646,668kWh of renewable energy in one year from the new system alone.

The solar project has been installed on seven different structures on the Caltech campus using over 4,500 solar panels. The Cahill Center, which has 26.88kW of installed solar energy, is also Caltech’s first building to be USGBC LEED gold-level certified.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

“Caltech is making great strides toward ‘greening’ its entire campus and Perpetual is honored to have helped it reach its solar energy production goals for 2010 through this installation,” said Joseph Rodriguez, president and CEO of Perpetual. “This project was unique as it included two parking structures on which we used a ‘space frame’ design as the mounting system for the solar arrays and panels on the rooftops of several very notable Caltech buildings.”

Perpetual signed a PPA with the University allowing it to house the solar installation with no capital outlay and purchase the energy produced by each installation at a predetermined fixed rate. The system itself is owned, operated and maintained by Perpetual who used a combination of federal energy tax incentives and standard financing for the project’s funding.

Read Next

July 4, 2025
Chinese PV provider Skycorp Solar Group has announced a solar plant acquisition and development strategy following unanimous board approval.
July 4, 2025
Germany’s latest innovation tender has awarded 488MW of co-located capacity, with all the projects being solar PV tied with energy storage.
July 4, 2025
Risen Energy’s mass-produced heterojunction (HJT) modules have reached a cell conversion efficiency of 26.61%, a record figure for the company.
July 4, 2025
The US House of Representatives has passed the final version of the reconciliation bill that is now going to US President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature before its passing.
July 4, 2025
Australian retailer AGL Energy has confirmed its acquisition of South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant (SAVPP) from Tesla.
July 3, 2025
Renewable energy curtailment in Brazil is set to reach 8% across the country, and be as high as 11% in the north-east, by 2035.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK