Appropriately taking place on Earth Day, Elizabethtown College dedicated Pennsylvania’s largest higher education-sited solar array, a recently completed 2.6 MW project.
Completion and dedication of the project celebrated Friday, April 22, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 777 Campus Road, Elizabethtown, featured John Quigley, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, as a speaker. The event featured tours of the solar field.
Elizabethtown College made a mark on its sustainability goals by leveraging a $500,000 state grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to build the solar power plant on College property in Mount Joy Township. The project will serve as a living laboratory for E-town Engineering and Physics students and faculty and staff members, providing research and learning opportunities in solar energy for years to come.
“We are very honored to join our partner, Community Energy, in dedicating this distinctive facility, which enhances the environment and provides economical power to the College,” said Bob Wallett, vice president for administration and finance.
The project will produce more than 20 percent of E-town’s annual electricity needs and more than 3,000,000 kWh per year – enough electricity to power more than 300 homes. The construction team included national solar installer Namasté Solar and New Holland, Pennsylvania-based Advanced Solar Industries.
Learn more about our sustainability goals and “green fund” initiative.