Florida Gulf Coast University’s long-awaited solar field has gone live, with the full 2-megawatt system now powering several main buildings on campus. It is now the largest working solar field operated by a university in the United States, and has opened within the same year when university officials broke ground.
It’s now providing electricity to over 200,000 square feet of space.
The 20-acre parcel where the solar field was built was slated for development at some point, and university officials have undertaken mitigation efforts on the land like moving native plants and animals to a new habitat.
The entire $14 million project still appears to be under budget. In all, the project comprises 10,080 panels installed on 16 acres. About half of the project’s total cost has been funded with a state grant, and the field is expected to save the university $700,000 to $800,000 a year in energy costs.
– from naplesnews.com