Capital Partners Solar Project
Summary
Capital Partners Solar Project is a renewable energy project that will provide solar power to the
George Washington University, American University and the George Washington University
Hospital. Comprised of 52 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) power—roughly the
amount of electricity used by 8,200 homes every year—it is the largest non-utility solar PV
power purchase agreement in the United States in total megawatt hours contracted, and the
largest PV project east of the Mississippi River. It shows that large organizations in an urban
setting can partner to significantly reduce their carbon footprints by receiving offsite solar
energy. The solar power harvested in North Carolina will move through the state’s electrical grid
into the D.C. regional grid, increasing the amount of solar energy in the region.
Partners
Customers: The George Washington University (GW), American University (AU) and the
George Washington University Hospital (GWUH)
Supplier: Duke Energy Renewables (DER)
Partnership Facilitator: CustomerFirst Renewables (CFR)
Project Facts
•
•
Capital Partners Solar Project is comprised of three project sites with a total capacity
of 52 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) power, which will cover a significant
portion of the electricity needs of GW, AU and GWUH during the next 20 years.
When fully operational, 243,000 solar panels at three sites in North Carolina will
generate 123 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of emissions-free electricity in the first
year, and continue similarly for each consecutive year taking normal PV panel
degradation into account.
Breakdown by organization:
Renewable power
delivered per year
(kWh)
GW
AU
GWUH
TOTAL
86,625,000
30,000,000
6,375,000
123,000,000
Percent of
project’s
power
(rounded)
70
25
5
100
Percent of
total
electricity
needs met
53
53
32
N/A
•
Timeline
o Summer 2014: Partners break ground on the first solar panel site
o Winter 2014: First power delivered
o End of 2015: Project fully operational
Benefits
•
Environmental: In total, the project will eliminate approximately 60,000 metric tons of
carbon dioxide per year, which is equivalent to taking roughly 12,500 cars off the
road or driving 140 million miles. It will generate enough emissions-free energy per
year to power roughly 8,200 homes.
Breakdown by organization:
GW
AU
GWUH
TOTAL
•
•
Metric tons of
carbon
dioxide
eliminated
per year
Equivalence to
number of cars
taken off the
road per year
42,000
15,000
3,000
60,000
8,800
3,000
700
12,500
Equivalence to
number of
homes that
could be
powered per
year
5,700
2,000
500
8,200
Financial: The 20-year agreement will provide fixed commodity pricing for
solar energy at a lower total price than each institution’s current power solutions and
is expected to yield greater economic savings as traditional power prices are
anticipated to increase at a higher rate over the duration of the contract.
Economic: The project will create hundreds of construction jobs in North Carolina at
each site.