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Tufts’ earliest clean energy installation dates back to 1999 with 500 Watts of photovoltaics on Fairmont House, a small campus residence hall. In 2000, a supplemental solar thermal system was installed at Schmalz House, another small campus residence hall. In 2006, Tufts’ residence hall, Sophia Gordon Hall, included a solar thermal supplemental domestic hot water system and a 23.8 kW photovoltaic system. In 2014, a 99 kW solar array was added to Dowling Hall, generating over 100,000 kWh annually. After a 2010 feasibility study of Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton showed that wind power was not practical, the university pursued other renewable options. Through PowerOption’s Large Scale Solar program, two ground-mounted photovoltaic systems were installed on the Grafton campus in 2017.

Tufts currently maintains solar arrays on multiple campuses that make the power grid greener and help Tufts save money. Solar generated power is about 60 percent less expensive than electricity from National Grid (Massachusetts utility company).

Tufts funds solar installations in three ways: capital expenditure, grants, and Power Purchase Agreements. Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) are contracts in which a developer funds the purchase and installation of a solar energy system, then sells the Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) generated by that system. Typically in Massachusetts, these RECs are sold to the utility company so they can meet the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which requires them to obtain a percentage of their electricity from qualifying renewable energy facilities. In all cases where Tufts funded a solar project through a PPA, Tufts did not retain the RECs and therefore cannot claim the greenhouse gas emissions reduction from those projects. Watch our solar energy webinar to hear more about how we use these three options at Tufts.

Keep reading to learn where each solar array at Tufts is located, when it was installed, how it was funded, and how much energy it produces.

Cummings School

Campus: Grafton

Year Installed: Construction for this project began in 2015. The panels were activated in 2017.

Funding: Power Purchase Agreement with Sun Edison (has since switched to NRG Energy)

Power Produced: 3,800 kW

Dowling Garage

Campus: Medford/Somerville

Year Installed: 2014

Funding: Power Purchase Agreement with SunBug Solar

Power Produced: 99 kW (125,000 kWh annually) Live data on energy generation from the Dowling
Garage can be seen here.

Roof of Tufts Gantcher Center covered with solar panels

Gantcher Center

Campus: Medford/Somerville

Year Installed: 2019

Funding: Power Purchase Agreement with Solect Energy

Power Produced: 340 kW (390,000 kWh annually)

Hodgdon Hall

Campus: Medford/Somerville

Year Installed: 2018

Funding: Grant funded by Tufts Green Fund ($6,500), Tufts University ($5,500), and SunBug Solar ($10,000)

Power Produced: 2700 kWh annually with 6 kWh of battery storage (enough to power 1,000 phones!). This is a Tufts Energy Group project that charges student electronic devices on the patio and common room.

Lewis Hall

Campus: Medford/Somerville

Year Installed: 2018

Funding: Power Purchase Agreement with Solect Energy

Power Produced: 83.2 kW (100,000 kWh annually)

Science and Engineering Complex

Campus: Medford/Somerville

Year Installed: 2018

Funding: Power Purchase Agreement with Solect Energy

Power Produced: 52.36 kW (61,000 kWh annually)

Sophia Gordon Hall

Campus: Medford/Somerville

Year Installed: 2006

Funding: Grant funded by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative ($500,000) with additional funds provided by Tufts.

Power Produced: 23.8 kW (25,000 kWh annually)
SoGo solar reduces approximately 17.7 Metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year,
which is equal to 2 homes' energy use each year.
Calculated with the Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies
Calculator.

12 Bellevue St.

Campus: Medford/Somerville

Year Installed: 2019

Funding: $40,200 provided by donor

Power Produced: 12 kW DC (13,000 kWh annually)