Bowdoin College to Lead State in Solar Power

BRUNSWICK, Maine — A proposed solar power complex at Bowdoin College will be eight times larger than any solar installation in the state of Maine.

The school’s board of trustees last week approved the 1,300-kW system, set to generate energy for the school’s largest athletic facilities, to create a new standard of sustainability in the state. Currently, Maine’s largest solar installation is Thomas College’s 170-kW system.

The college will collaborate with San Mateo, Calif.-based SolarCity Corp., which will finance, build and maintain the solar panels.

“Our college is proud to propose this significant investment in clean and renewable solar energy,” said Barry Mills, president of Bowdoin College, in a statement. “Our partnership with SolarCity reduces Bowdoin’s dependence on fossil fuels and makes sense for the college economically. It also provides meaningful educational opportunities for students and faculty focused on alternative energy and sustainability, and underscores Bowdoin’s continuing commitment to the responsible stewardship of our environment.”

Expected to generate approximately 1.6 million-kW hours of electricity, the project is set to complete within 18 months and offset 8 percent of Bowdoin’s annual electricity consumption. The plan will construct a 600-kW of solar power on the roofs of Farley Field House and Watson Arena as well as a 700-kW installation of ground-mounted panels on land recently acquired by the Brunswick Naval Air Station. The 700-kW installation will be constructed across three acres.

The move for solar energy is part of the school’s mission to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020. The plan began implementation in fall 2009 with a goal of reducing Scope 1 emissions by at least 28 percent by 2020. Other Bowdoin projects aimed at sustainability include the installation of a cogeneration steam turbine in the central heating plant and the installation of solar thermal panels on the roof of Thorne Dining Hall and the Schwartz Outdoor Leadership Center.

“This is an important step forward for renewable energy in Maine and I am pleased to see Bowdoin College taking such an environmental leadership position,” said Everett Carson, former executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine and Bowdoin alumnus, in a statement. “I hope this project inspires others to make significant investments in renewables in the state.”