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    Sunny Days, Scarlett Knights: Rutgers University selects DSD for On-Campus Solar

    June 23, 2023
    The project could generate 18 GWh of clean electricity annually and will contribute to the existing solar canopy installations covering 33 acres of the Livingston Campus. The solar carport canopies will be installed at no upfront cost to the university
    Image credit DSD Renewables
    Knightsbridge Rd P1 6495bce962c31

    Rutgers University in New Jersey has selected DSD Renewables to install 16 solar carport canopies across its campuses, with a total capacity of 14.5 MW.

    The initiative aligns with the university’s Climate Action Plan and its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. The project is expected to generate 18 GWh of clean electricity annually and will contribute to the existing solar canopy installations covering 33 acres of the Livingston Campus.

    The solar carport canopies will be installed at no upfront cost to the university. The project is financed through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with DSD, which will handle the design, construction, ownership, operation, and maintenance of the solar canopies for 15 years.

    Rutgers Division of Institutional Planning and Operations (IP&O) will purchase the generated power at a significantly discounted rate compared to the local utility, DSD says.

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    Construction is currently underway in various parking lots across the university’s campuses, with completion expected in late 2023. Once finished, the solar carports will provide shaded parking lot coverage, mitigating urban heat island effects and offering protection from snowfall and precipitation during the winter months. Additionally, the carports will generate clean energy to power university buildings and operations.

    “This is an exciting portfolio of projects that will provide Rutgers students across five campuses with access to renewable energy, and will ultimately bring the university closer to its sustainability goals while saving money on electricity,” said Kevin Brooks, Senior Director, Origination at DSD.

    DSD Renewables is a commercial and industrial solar developer based in New York. The developer has undertaken solar installation or power purchase projects with customers such as Lowe's stores, AT&T, Six Flags Entertainment and Principal Asset Management.

    Late last year, DSD Renewables announced it had secured $155 million debt financing to securitize its C&I solar projects.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.