Portland Community College unveils solar array at Rock Creek
With a herd of bleating sheep looking on, Portland Community Collegeofficials on Friday unveiled a newly completed 35,000-square-foot solar array at their Rock Creek Campus.
Photo by joanna8555 on Flickr Creative Commons
With a herd of bleating sheep looking on, Portland Community Collegeofficials on Friday unveiled a newly completed 35,000-square-foot solar array at their Rock Creek Campus.
The array, billed as one of the largest in the region, is projected to save about $1.25 million in campus energy costs over the next 25 years.
"This is all about being more sustainable," PCC District President Preston Pulliams said. "The benefits of this project will be with us for years to come."
The 2,100-panel array is owned and operated by SolarCity, an energy-consulting company with offices in Portland. It is expected to produce 500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in its first year -- enough to power about 40 average-sized houses.
The array, which on first glance looks like long stadium grandstands 12 rows deep, is a collaborative effort involving PCC, The Energy Trust of Oregon, SolarCity, SolarWorld and theOregon Department of Energy.
The panels were manufactured by Hillsboro-based SolarWorld.
