Stanford University
OP-6: Clean and Renewable Energy

In addition to the seventeen sites that already had rooftop solar, panels were also added to 15 additional sites on Stanford’s campus in March 2017 with a production capacity of approximately 5 MW. The electricity produced by on-campus solar PV comprises 2% of Stanford’s total electricity consumption. More information on the launch of the on-site solar can be found in the following Stanford Report article: http://news.stanford.edu/2017/04/17/sun-rooftop-photovoltaic-panels-electricity-stanford/

Waste heat recovered from chilled water is used to produce hot water for building heating.

Stanford has a power purchase agreement with SunPower to purchase all electricity and bundled RECs from the 67 MW Stanford Solar Generating Station located in southern California. The plant uses SunPower’s state-of-the-art PV technology with single axis tracking. The plant came online in December 2016 and Stanford has agreed to purchase the generated electricity and RECs for the next 25 years. All RECs generated by the plant meet California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard’s Level 1 Portfolio Content Category definition, ensuring they are bundled, in-state, and additional. Stanford’s REC purchases are tracked through the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS). More information on the launch of the Stanford Solar Generating Station can be found in the following Stanford Report article: http://news.stanford.edu/2016/12/05/stanford-unveils-innovative-solar-generating-station/
As part of Stanford's long range planning effort, Stanford set the goal in spring 2018 to achieve 80% carbon neutrality by 2025. In December 2018, Stanford announced plans to construct an 88MW solar generating plant near Lemoore, CA to allow it to do so. The new plant will provide enough solar power to bring Stanford to a 100% renewable electricity supply, which in turn will contribute to an 80% emissions reduction since 2011. The new plant will come online in 2021, allowing the university to achieve 80% carbon neutrality four years ahead of schedule and decades ahead of statewide requirements. The article announcing Stanford's new solar plant can be found here: https://news.stanford.edu/2018/12/03/stanford-go-100-percent-solar-2021/

Stanford has committed to a 65% renewable electricity portfolio. Approximately 55% comes from Stanford’s on-campus and off-campus solar installations, as described in the sections above. The remainder is purchased as third-party RECs from Stanford’s energy service provider (ESP). Stanford purchases these RECs monthly, as agreed upon in its contract with the ESP.