On the heels of a deal to provide sun power and efficient lighting for Lyon College in Batesville, Entegrity of Little Rock is building a solar array to help the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville save on utilities and cut greenhouse gas emissions through a 25-year solar power purchase contract.
UA System President Donald Bobbitt signed the deal on July 18 as “part of an ongoing campus strategy to be both fiscally responsible and environmentally conscious with all our projects,” the university’s vice chancellor of facilities, Scott Turley, said in a statement. The solar power will come from a power array Entegrity will install on 25 acres off campus. Construction is expected to be completed by early 2024.
Turley said the university’s greenhouse gas footprint will be reduced by 8.8%, adding that the environmental commitment extends to energy savings performance contracts and “ Green Building Council certified facilities.”
Entegrity prevailed in a competitive selection process, and as service provider will supply all capital costs, design, permit acquisition, installation, utility interconnection, operation and maintenance for the array. The deal was first reported Monday by Solar Power World.
The university will buy the solar array’s total energy output at a specified rate over the next 25 years, with a guaranteed minimum output that would provide more than 6% of current campus energy consumption.
In 2007, the university was a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, aiming for campus carbon neutrality by 2040, and a higher education pioneer in cutting emissions.
“The U of A is leading by example,” Eric Boles, director of the college’s Office for Sustainability, said in a news release. “Simply put, this project saves money, reduces risk, and minimizes environmental impact. We are excited to tell this story and inspire others to look beyond business as usual.”
