Butte College's 25,000 solar panels generate 6.5 million KWH of electricity, enough to power the campus and feed the excess back into the grid.
California’s Butte College has become the first college in the United States to produce more electricity than it consumes — and it’s all clean, renewable, solar-generated energy.
The result of a seven-year effort that began modestly and grew more ambitious over time, the college’s 25,000 solar panels are capable of generating 6.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year — enough to power nearly 1,000 average-sized homes, and more than enough to meet institutional demand.
By eliminating the need to purchase electricity, avoiding future rate increases, and selling excess capacity back to the grid, Butte College officials estimate that its solar initiative will save between $50 million and $75 million over the next 15 years, even after accounting for the project’s $31 million dollar cost. Already, the college has received nearly $1 million for excess energy it has produced.
Located 75 miles from Sacramento on a 928-acre wildlife refuge, the 2-year community college serves approximately 21,000 full- and part-time students. Because of its remote location, the college operates as a self-contained city, providing its own water supply, sewage treatment, and transportation system.
In recent years, Butte College has earned a number of national awards for leadership in sustainability, including:
- the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) 2009 Campus Leadership Award,
- the 2009 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Power Partnership Award, the 2008 National Wildlife Association Campus Chill-Out Award, and
- several Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council, 2010.
