Namasté Solar, an employee-owned cooperative and leading engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider of solar electric systems for commercial, non-profit, government and residential customers throughout the United States, celebrated the completion of a 2.6-MW solar project for Elizabethtown College at a ribbon-cutting event in Mount Joy Township, Pennsylvania.
The project is the largest higher education-sited solar installation in Pennsylvania. Namasté Solar partnered with Advanced Solar Industries and project developer, Community Energy to build the 10-acre ground-mounted solar array, which became operational earlier this winter.
The solar array will have the capacity to supply more than 20 percent of Elizabethtown College’s annual electricity needs, producing more than 3,000,000 kWh per year — enough to power the equivalent of nearly 300 homes. The installation also provides educational and research opportunities for students at the college to learn in-depth about the benefits of renewable energy.
“Elizabethtown College has taken a proactive approach to being a leader in sustainability with this project,” said Ben Griffin, Project Development Manager – Northeast Region for Namasté Solar. “The project not only provides the college with energy savings, it also makes it possible for students to engage directly with renewable energy generation on campus. We are thrilled to have been a partner in the construction of this landmark project.”
Elizabethtown College, an independent coeducational college in south central Pennsylvania with approximately 1,800 undergraduates, was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) to build the project. The array is owned and operated by Community Energy, based in Randor, PA.
The project is Namasté Solar’s first large-scale solar array in the state of Pennsylvania. Some of Namasté Solar’s most notable solar projects to date have included Clarkson University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Environmental Protection Agency, the Colorado Convention Center, Colorado State University and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
News item from Namasté Solar