Tesla Solar Array Installed at Dickinson College
Solar Field Video Image
12,000 solar panels to provide 30 percent of campus electricity needs
video by Joe O'Neill, with Kristen Kozar '20 and Emma Weaver '19 of the Center for Sustainability Education
Dickinson has a reputation for being a leader in sustainability, from the Center for Sustainability Education to ALLARM to the College Farm and back. And while solar power has been a piece in Dickinson’s sustainability picture for years, a new solar panel array out past Dickinson Park really kicks the movement into high gear.
“Dickinson has made a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2020, so this is a very big part of that,” says Ken Shultes, associate vice president for sustainability & facilities planning, noting that the 3-megawatt solar field will generate more than 5 million kilowatts of electricity, about 30 percent of Dickinson’s electricity needs.
The array was designed and built by Tesla, and the company will own and maintain it through a 25-year contract. In turn, Dickinson will purchase the power the array generates and will receive the carbon renewable energy credits.
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Published August 7, 2018