L.A. Community College District Announces Plan to Take Its Nine Campuses “Off the Grid”

Precedent-setting program will construct enough solar energy cells to provide 9 megawatts of electricity, enough for all daytime power needs

October 17, 2006 (SAN JOSE, Calif.) The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), the nation’s largest community college district, today announced a precedent-setting plan to produce enough of its own electricity to take its nine campuses “off the power grid.” The LACCD believes that it is the first community college district in the nation to plan to generate all its own electricity. The initial plan is to build enough photovoltaic panels (sometimes known as “solar energy cells”) to produce one megawatt of electricity at each of its nine colleges.

The announcement was made at the Solar Power 2006 conference in San Jose, organized by the Solar Electric Power and Solar Energy Industries Associations. The one megawatt per campus program is part of the LACCD's Energy Strategy Plan which includes: plans for a renewable energy Central Plant; performance conservation efficiency contracts; and a sustainability curriculum for its nine Los Angeles-area colleges.

The nine colleges of the LACCD use, on average, less than one megawatt per campus, so self-generating that amount through the use of photovoltaic panels will provide enough electricity to meet all daytime requirements. Future plans call for using excess electrical energy to convert water into oxygen and hydrogen, and to use the hydrogen in the evening to power fuel cells for electricity on campus. According to the California Energy Commission, one megawatt is enough energy to power 1,000 average California homes.

"Here in sunny southern California, we are meeting our responsibility to generate as much solar energy as possible, and continuing to maintain our leadership in pursuing sustainability practices in higher education," said Larry Eisenberg, Executive Director of Facilities Planning and Development for the LACCD. “We believe that what today may seem futuristic can soon be commonplace.”

Installation of the solar panels at the colleges—set to be completed in 2008—is expected to cost between $7 and $9 million. A Request for Proposals will be issued within the next four weeks for the contracts to install solar panels at the nine campuses.

LACCD is currently "greening" its nine colleges as part of its $2.2 billion Proposition A/AA Bond modernization and sustainable development programs, funded and approved by Los Angeles voters in 2001 and 2003. LACCD is utilizing incentive programs from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison. As part of its commitment to energy education, the LACCD is creating a sustainable development curriculum that integrates classes, green building education and certificates along with displays such as learning solar station kiosks on each college campus.

The LACCD is a leader in pursuing sustainable energy goals. The District's sustainability practices have been recognized by numerous organizations, including the U.S. Green Building Council, California Climate Registry, Global Green USA, and Flex Your Power. The goal of the LACCD's energy plan is to make each of the District's nine college's energy self-sufficient.

"Besides becoming energy self-sufficient, this commitment to adopting renewable energy sources will allow us to reallocate money we are currently spending on power to other pressing needs, such as the maintenance and operation of the new buildings we are constructing under the Bond program," Eisenberg said.

The LACCD is one of the largest community college districts in the country, educating nearly 200,000 students each year. For technical information contact: Mr. Bharat Patel at (213) 593-8250 or email at bharat.patel@dmjmjgm.com For administration and management contact: Dr. Woodrow Clark at (310) 858-6886 or wclark13@aol.com For more general information, visit www.PropositionA.org