Colorado State University new solar plant is one of the largest at a college or university in the world.

Two-megawatt solar facility at Colorado State taking advantage of a host of state and federal policies.

In a move that further demonstrates the state’s commitment to leadership in the field of renewable energy, Colorado State University (CSU) today dedicated one of the largest solar plants in the nation to be housed at a university.

The array is a two-megawatt operation that will help the state meet goals for renewable energy and keep the Fort Collins, Colo., university’s utility rates stable and affordable for the next 20 years.In a recent debate on the future of energy in America between Don Blankenship and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the king of West Virginia’s coal industry remarked that ‘if solar and wind power were really viable alternatives to coal, they would already be implemented on a large scale.’ The timely dedication of CSU’s massive solar array would seem to imply that, at least in the West, that’s exactly what’s happening.

The solar power plant, which is owned and operated by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, features more than 8,000 Trina Solar panels that cover 15 acres of the university’s Foothills Campus- about three miles west of the main campus. Thanks to innovative technology from Array Technologies, Inc., the panels rotate to track the sun’s movement and capture optimal sunlight throughout most of the day.

Aerial shot of Renewable Ventures Solar Plant at the Foothills Campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO.

“This CSU solar project delivers on the Colorado promise of the New Energy Economy, which is establishing Colorado as a leader in renewable energy and creating jobs throughout the state,” said Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, who spoke to attendees at the dedication.

Xcel Energy, a utility supplier of electric power and natural gas service in Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and three other states, solicits bids each year for solar installations to meet the solar energy mandates of the Colorado Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, also known as Amendment 37. In his address at the dedication, Gov. Ritter pointed out that the state is already on track to meet the goals of Amendment 37 at least five years ahead of time, and continues to increase its expectations for investor-owned solar energy.

To those like Blankenship, who claim that renewable energy only benefits foreign manufactures, and doesn’t really create American jobs, it’s important to point out that this project in Colorado had an estimated economic impact of roughly $1.7 million from local labor, subcontractors and materials. Advanced Energy, a Fort Collins, Colo., company was hired to build the inverters that convert the solar power from DC to AC electricity.

The solar plant, which is the second such project to be installed in the CSU system, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions sent into the atmosphere by 5.5 million pounds, the equivalent of removing more than 480 cars from the road each year.