Fullerton College and ​​ForeFront Power Complete a 1 MW Solar Carport System

FULLERTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of its Earth Week celebration, Fullerton College held a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the completion of a new solar canopy system developed in partnership with ForeFront Power, a leading developer and asset manager of commercial and industrial-scale solar energy and storage projects. The 1 megawatt-DC (MW DC) solar parking canopy array, located in Student Parking Lot 5 adjacent to Sherbeck Field, is projected to save Fullerton College nearly $6 million in energy costs over the next 20 years.

Fullerton College pursued this project to save on utility costs, reduce its carbon footprint, and advance its sustainability goals of transitioning campus energy consumption to 100% renewable energy. The solar carport system will generate 1.8 million kWh of renewable energy, which is enough to power the annual electricity use of over 300 homes. This energy output will offset roughly 19% of the College’s electrical consumption.

The clean, renewable electricity production from the solar energy system will help the College avoid 1,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, which is roughly equivalent to taking 200 cars off the road each year or offsetting the emissions from over 1 million pounds of coal burned. Put another way, the CO2 avoided each year will equal the amount of carbon sequestered by over 900 acres of U.S. forests in a year.

“After over a century of being in operation, Fullerton College is moving into the future by implementing clean energy solutions that will allow us to reliably produce clean energy, reduce harmful emissions, and reinvest energy savings into student success,” said Dr. Cynthia Olivo, President of Fullerton College. “What better time than during Earth Week to reaffirm our responsibility to the planet and future generations.”

This is a pilot solar project for North Orange County Community College District to help demonstrate how solar can benefit other campuses in the District. The project is the culmination of an initial Solar Feasibility Study completed in 2021, which helped the College identify the project site, as well as implement the College’s 2023-2026 Campus Sustainability Plan, which approved the development of the Student Lot 5 solar carport project through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with ForeFront Power.

The PPA with ForeFront Power enabled Fullerton College to develop its project at no upfront cost and without using bond funds. Under the terms of the PPA, ForeFront Power develops, owns, and maintains the solar energy portfolio and charges the College a fixed, lower rate than the utility for electricity, locked in for the 20-year duration of the agreement. ForeFront Power will continue to operate and maintain the system at no cost to the College, while the College benefits from budget certainty by avoiding utility rate increases for decades to come.

“As a trusted renewable energy partner to California schools, ForeFront Power is honored to have the opportunity to help Fullerton College kick off the beginning of a decades-long journey towards transitioning to clean, renewable energy,” said Nate Smith Ide, Senior Manager at ForeFront Power. “By making clean energy more accessible and simplifying the procurement process, we’re helping schools like Fullerton College lead the way for other public institutions across California and beyond.”

Fullerton College selected ForeFront Power to develop, finance, and construct its solar and energy storage portfolio via the Renewable Energy Aggregated Procurement (REAP) Program offered by SPURR. SPURR, a Joint Powers Authority of hundreds of public education agencies, uses competitive solicitations, aggregated buying power, and technical expertise to obtain excellent pricing and terms for utilities-related goods and services. The REAP Program allows any California public agency to obtain the best solar and energy storage pricing and terms from a competitive statewide solicitation.

About Fullerton College

Fullerton College, established in 1913, is indeed the oldest continuously operating community college in California. It offers a wide range of academic programs, including over 120 associate degrees and numerous certificate programs.

About ForeFront Power

ForeFront Power is a leading developer of community solar and commercial- and industrial-scale (C&I) solar energy and battery storage projects in the U.S. and Mexico, also offering vehicle fleet electrification services. Over 15 years of working together, the ForeFront Power team has developed more than 1,900 behind-the-meter and community solar projects, totaling more than 1.6 gigawatt-DC of renewable electricity. ForeFront Power serves business, government, education, healthcare and community solar customers with a broad array of development, asset management and advisory services from its San Francisco headquarters and via teams based in New York, Mexico City, and across the U.S.