9 District Campuses To Function On Solar Energy (L. A., CA)

[jpak]

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_290182549.html

(CBS) LOS ANGELES Solar energy panels will be built at the nine Los Angeles Community College District campuses as part of an effort to generate enough electricity to make the campuses self-sufficient and take them "off the power grid," district officials announced Tuesday.

"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," Larry Eisenberg, executive director of facilities planning and development for the community college district said. "We believe that what today may seem futuristic can soon be commonplace."

The district plans to build enough solar energy cells to produce one megawatt of electricity at each of its colleges. One megawatt is enough to power 1,000 average California homes, according to the district. Each campus currently uses less than one megawatt of power.

District officials said they plan to eventually use excess electricity to convert water into oxygen and hydrogen, with the hydrogen being used at night to power campus fuel cells. The district also plans to build a renewable energy Central Plant and add "sustainability curriculum" at each campus.

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[kestrel91316]

1. Sometimes...........just sometimes.................I am

SOOOOOOOO proud of my city. This is one of those times.

Somebody downtown has their thinking cap on: Save energy. Save money. Set a good example for others. Support sustainability with our tax dollars. Use it to TEACH skills in a growing industry.

[XemaSab]

2. Interesting how many HUGE solar projects are going on

1 MW or greater...

There are currenly only a handful of 1 MW private installations in the world, but first google, now this.... good times. :D