Wednesday 26 August 2020

Duke University to meet half of its electricity needs with 101MW solar portfolio

Duke University in North Carolina has launched a new partnership to purchase 101MW of capacity from new solar farms in order to cover 50% of its electricity needs with renewables and accelerate its journey toward carbon-neutrality.

The university, which has committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2024, has teamed up with the US developer Pine Gate Renewables to build the new solar farms - they are expected to be online by 2022.

Compared to a 2007 baseline, the addition of this solar energy when combined with existing and planned efforts, is projected to result in a 69% reduction in the university’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2022 and a 73% reduction by 2024.

The expanded solar energy investment supports the university's climate action plan, which has a goal of reducing on-campus emissions by 84% by 2024, with the remaining emissions reaching zero through carbon offsetting.

Duke President Vincent E. Price said: "Duke is committed to building on our history of leadership in protecting the environment, a vitally important priority for our university and for humanity as we grapple with the challenges of climate change."