Cornell U Adds Solar Farm for Energy Production, Academic Use

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 10/21/14

Cornell University has added an 11-acre solar photovoltaic installation capable of producing approximately 2 megawatts of power.

The installation, with 6,778 photovoltaic panels in Lansing, NY, "is Cornell's first large-scale solar project and is expected to produce 2.067 MW (DC) or 1.76 MW (AC), and will produce 2,388,357 kilowatt-hours in year one," according to a news release. "This is equal to reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions from 347 passenger vehicles, or offsetting CO2 emissions from electricity use from 277 homes for one year."

Ten solar panels were included in the site for academic use, with physical access to those panels available to students, along with access to a Web-based dashboard of the array's monitoring software. Real time energy use data will be available online, as well.

"This represents a significant step to advance Cornell's renewable energy portfolio," said Kyu Whang, Cornell vice president for facilities, in a prepared statement. "A Lansing solar facility aligns with the carbon reduction goals of Cornell, Tompkins County and New York State."

Cornell's partners in the project include Distributed Sun, Building Energy and ABM.

For more information about sustainability initiatives at Cornell, visit sustainability.cornell.edu.