BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) today announced the development of a 750-kilowatt on-site solar installation at Anne Arundel County’s Combined Support Services Complex in Millersville, Md., and the development of a 500 kilowatt on-site solar installation at Coppin State University in Baltimore. Both projects are funded, in part, by grants through the Maryland Energy Administration’s Project Sunburst initiative, which promotes the installation of large-scale solar photovoltaic energy systems on state buildings. Constellation Energy will finance as well as own and operate the on-site solar installations. In return, both organizations will purchase the electricity produced by the systems at a reduced cost from Constellation Energy over a 20-year period.
“This is a great example of how collaborations between the state and local businesses can support clean, renewable energy generation and help keep electricity prices affordable,” said Ron Melchior, vice president of renewable energy for Constellation Energy's retail business. “By structuring solar projects as power purchase agreements, we can offer energy solutions that involve no upfront capital from customers and provide them with fixed power costs over the long term, which is critical as county governments and public universities work to control rising costs for taxpayers.”
The Combined Support Services Complex building houses Anne Arundel County’s facilities and maintenance, fire protection and school storage departments. The facility’s on-site solar power system will utilize approximately 3,060 roof-mounted crystalline photovoltaic solar panels and supply an estimated 900,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. The new solar installation is expected to offset 90 percent of the building’s annual electric consumption, saving the county an estimated $80,000 per year in utility costs.
“Fiscal discipline and environmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive goals," said Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold. "This project promotes clean energy and provides a savings to taxpayers."
Coppin State University’s on-site solar power system will supply electricity for its new Physical Education Complex, utilizing approximately 2,040 roof-mounted crystalline photovoltaic solar panels. The system is expected to supply more than 600,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
Coppin State University, one of 11 campuses comprising the University System of Maryland, is committed to sustainable energy production and conservation. “All of our facility improvements and new construction have a focus on sustainability and energy conservation,” said Maqbool Patel, director of facilities management at the Coppin campus. “This is part of a larger effort to contain costs and maximize resourcefulness of campus resources during this period of fiscal austerity.”
In total, the Anne Arundel and Coppin State solar installations are expected to generate roughly 1.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Generating the same amount of electricity using non-renewable sources would result in the release of 1,077 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent emissions from 206 passenger vehicles. Both on-site solar power systems are scheduled to begin producing electricity in spring 2011.
Constellation Energy currently owns and operates 60 megawatts of solar installations that have been completed or are under construction for customers in Maryland and throughout the U.S. Commercial customers, universities, school systems, hospitals and government agencies interested in on-site solar installations of 1 MW or larger can contact Constellation Energy at sustainable-solutions@constellation.com or 1-877-427-2005. To watch a brief video about Constellation Energy’s solar power systems, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyaXDmgM55M.
About Constellation Energy Group, Inc.
Constellation Energy (www.constellation.com) is a leading supplier of energy products and services to wholesale and retail electric and natural gas customers. It owns a diversified fleet of generating units located in the United States and Canada, totaling approximately 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and is among the leading advocates for new nuclear development in the United States. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in Central Maryland. A FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Baltimore, Constellation Energy had revenues of $15.6 billion in 2009.
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