Emory University will install over 15,000 solar panels across 16 buildings on its Druid Hills campus, which will generate approximately 10 percent of Emory’s peak energy requirements and reduce Emory’s greenhouse gas emissions by about 4,300 metric tons.
The University has awarded Cherry Street Energy with a 20-year agreement to install 5.5. megawatts (MW) of solar generation across campus.
“Various Emory rooftops and parking decks will soon be home to an array of solar photovoltaic panels, converting our campus into a significant site for clean energy supporting Emory’s carbon commitment,” said Robin Morey, vice president of Campus Services and chief planning officer at Emory University. “This transformational project upholds Emory’s commitment to addressing climate change and building a resilient and sustainable future.”
Cherry Street will install more than 15,000 solar photovoltaic panels on building rooftops and parking structures across Emory as part of a Solar Energy Procurement Agreement (SEPA), an arrangement made legal in Georgia in 2015 that allows a private investor to install, own, and maintain solar panels with Emory buying the power at rates lower than charged by the utility. Under SEPA, there are no upfront costs to Emory.
The investment supports Emory’s newly revised greenhouse gas emissions goals, which now mirror the latest science articulated by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that requires a 45 percent reduction by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. Additionally, through innovative financing methods, there is no capital commitments as a result of leveraging Emory’s future energy spend.
