IRVINE — Building on a long tradition of groundbreaking climate change research and green construction and infrastructure practices, UC Irvine is now adding solar power to its menu of sustainability initiatives. A newly approved, 20-year agreement with Chicago-based UPC Solar will locate a photovoltaic solar system on campus rooftops, which will generate enough power to supply the equivalent of 200 average Irvine homes. The initiative is the largest of its kind in the University of California system and in Orange County and among the largest in California.

UPC Solar will design, install, own and maintain 6,500 solar panels to be placed on 11 campus buildings, resulting in a total system size of 1.2 megawatts DC. UCI then will purchase clean, green power from UPC, especially during peak demand periods when the cost of electricity is high. There is no net change in electricity costs to UCI. The solar power system will deliver an annual reduction of approximately 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

Kiosks located strategically around the campus will monitor the system and provide ready information to passersby about how much energy is being generated and carbon offset.

“We’ve been working on acquiring solar power at UC Irvine for more than two years,” said Wendell C. Brase, vice chancellor of Administrative & Business Services, who led the initiative. “This contract allows us to harness solar-powered electricity with no capital outlay by the campus. And UCI will be among the first to help the UC system reach its goal of providing 10 megawatts of local renewable power by 2014.”

UPC Solar President and CEO Morten Sissener said his company is delighted to support the university’s solar electricity initiative. “This solar initiative demonstrates that good business can also be good for the environment,” Sissener said.

The solar power agreement is the latest in a decade-long series of green initiatives undertaken by the campus. Among the recent highlights:

• The Zipcar car-sharing program, which rolled out in January, encourages faculty, staff and students to walk, bike, carpool or take the bus or train to work by making cars available for appointments or errands during the workday.

• Last year, the campus won a gold award for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design from the U.S. Building Council for its environmentally friendly Palo Verde 2 student housing development.

• The campus bus fleet runs on 100 percent biofuel.

UCI also launched its Center for Solar Energy in the School of Physical Sciences last summer with a $3.9 million gift from the California Community Foundation. The center fosters innovative multi-disciplinary research marrying physical science with biology, chemistry, physics and engineering in an effort to learn how to better turn solar energy into useable chemical and electrical resources. Long-range projects with potential for scientific and practical impact are the cornerstone of the center’s activities, with emphasis on educating scientists, students and the general public on the needs and the challenges associated with harnessing this abundant energy resource.

UCI’s leadership in climate change research was established by the revolutionary work of F. Sherwood Rowland, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 for proving how chlorofluorocarbons destroy stratospheric ozone.

About UPC Solar: UPC Solar designs, builds, finances, owns and operates solar power systems, including selling solar electricity to commercial, educational, utility and government entities under long-term power purchase agreements. UPC works with select suppliers, partners and capital providers to develop competitive solar projects. UPC Solar’s PPA enables distributed generation customers to buy solar electricity at competitive prices with little or no capital expense and purchase solar electricity instead of buying a solar power system, at guaranteed prices for 20 years. Fore more information, visit www.upcsolar.com.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students and nearly 2,000 faculty members. The third-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.6 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

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