Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) was among the first campuses in the nation to adopt a sustainability plan and now has approximately 1.7 MW of solar powering two campuses. Positive Energy Solar, a 2014 Top Solar Contractor, will cut the ribbon on the third solar project they’ve completed for SFCC at the Grand Opening of the new Higher Education Center (HEC) on Wednesday, January 14.
Two solar arrays installed in 2014 already save the college more than $200,000 per year. The new 156kW installation at the HEC combines a solar parking structure with rooftop arrays and will produce approximately 70% of the energy to power the new building.
SFCC President Randy W. Grissom stated, “SFCC is deploying solar arrays to generate affordable, clean energy that at the same time provide state of the art educational platforms and reduce operating costs. The college’s commitment to solar creates local jobs, develops skilled workers to fill those jobs and makes more funds available for education- it’s a win win win. We encourage all institutions of higher education in New Mexico to take advantage of the solar opportunity.”
Schools and higher education institutions across the country are pursuing solar energy to combat shrinking budgets and projected spikes in grid energy. Solar installations protect school budgets against these spikes and offer hands-on learning experiences for students. The first array Positive Energy Solar completed for Santa Fe Community College consisted of three dual axis trackers that features prominently in the college’s Sustainable Technologies curriculum.
The solar array at the HEC features 444 SunPower high-performance panels, a Baja Construction carport using a Sunpower T10 racking roof mount, and Advanced Energy inverters. Bradbury Stamm Construction and Positive Energy Solar collaborated on the project. Positive Energy Solar, headquartered in Santa Fe, is the 2014 SunPower dealer of the year and is known statewide for their deep expertise in solar system implementation and 100 percent customer satisfaction. Bradbury Stamm Construction is based in Albuquerque and has been executing high quality building projects for over 90 years.