Panel installation begins on Washington DC universities' 52 MW solar project

Share

An innovative solar project involving three universities in Washington, D.C., and a solar plant in North Carolina has begun taking shape after SunEnergy1 announced that it has begun installing JinkoSolar panels at the Duke Energy-owned site.

The 52 MW solar farm in eastern North Carolina, dubbed the Capital Partners Solar Project, is unique in that all solar power generated will be piped to three customers in nearby Washington, D.C., – the higher education establishments of George Washington University, American University and the George Washington University Hospital.

First conceived in June, the initial phase of the project will total 20 MW once complete. Located in Pasquotank County near Elizabeth City, commercial operation is penciled in for year-end, with the following two sites to be constructed next year.

Delivering all engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, SunEnergy1 has announced that it is “very proud” to be working on the project.

"It goes without saying how excited we are to be continuing our relationship with Duke Energy," said SunEnergy1 CEO Kenny Habul. "Elizabeth City is a great community to work with, and we’re proud to be providing construction jobs, locally purchasing goods and services, and increasing the county’s tax base as we build a first-rate solar facility."

JinkoSolar has supplied 92,000 of its UL-certified JKM300P-72 and JKM305P-72 solar panels, which boast a conversion efficiency of up to 16% and a 25-year warranty. "We are proud to have our panels powering such prominent establishments as George Washington University, American University and the George Washington University Hospital," said JinkoSolar U.S. general manager Nigel Cockroft. "We hope that sustainable energy continues to flourish in North Carolina and throughout the U.S."

For Duke Energy Renewables, the project represents its largest solar installation in North Carolina to date, and its 14th overall. The three universities in Washington, D.C., hope that a steady supply of solar power can held each establishment reach its target of carbon neutrality by 2025.

Under the terms of the project's agreement, George Washington University will receive 86.6 million kWh of solar power, American University 30 million kWh, and the George Washington University Hospital 6.3 million kWh.

Popular content

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

Share

Related content

Elsewhere on pv magazine...

Leave a Reply

Please be mindful of our community standards.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.

Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.

You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.

Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.