The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with CI Renewables, LLC (CI), a leading independent developer and owner of large-scale commercial and industrial solar power facilities, for the creation of a solar power project that will move the University further toward its goal of being a 100 percent carbon-neutral campus by 2045.
The PPA — in which CI will design, finance, install, own, and operate net-metered solar photovoltaic systems on the top level of UMB’s Penn Street and Pearl Street garages — will result in the construction of new solar energy facilities that will have a combined capacity of 1,386 kilowatts. The facilities are projected to produce approximately 1,504,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, the equivalent of electricity use in 207 homes for one year.
“We’re pleased to announce our first on-site renewable energy installations,” said UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS. “While UMB has supported PPAs for years, these new solar power systems on two of our garages will be a visible sign of our commitment to our core values of Well-Being and Sustainability.”
“CI Renewables is excited to partner with UMB in the development of these solar projects. The garage canopy solar arrays will help create a more sustainable campus and get UMB another step closer to achieving their carbon neutrality goals,” said Walter Serafyn, managing partner of CI.
UMB Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Operations Anna Borgerding, PMP, added, “This project is just the start of UMB’s sustainability journey. It will serve as a reminder of our environmental commitment and an educational tool for those on campus and in the community.”
The solar energy systems will be on UMB-owned property, and UMB will purchase all electricity produced at the sites, paying a per-kilowatt-hour rate for the electricity generated by the systems, just as it would to any other energy supplier.
In addition to the PPA with CI, UMB participates in three PPAs through the University System of Maryland: Pinnacle through US Windforce, St. Mary’s Solar through Constellation, and Roth Rock Phase II through Synergics-SBR. These PPAs help UMB meet the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards and the requirements under the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. Since 2022, the University also has purchased Green-e Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to cover the remaining portion of its electricity usage, bringing it to 100 percent renewable electricity.
About the University of Maryland, Baltimore
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) was founded in 1807 as the Maryland College of Medicine, which now stands as the nation’s oldest public medical school. In response to growing social and cultural needs, UMB’s mission has evolved and grown tremendously. Widely recognized as a preeminent institution, UMB serves as the academic health, law, and social work university of the University System of Maryland and is guided by a mission of excellence in education, research, clinical care, and public service.
UMB is a thriving academic health center combining cutting-edge biomedical research, exceptional patient care, and nationally ranked academic programs. With extramural funding totaling $654 million in Fiscal Year 2022, each tenured/tenure-track faculty member generates an average of $1.5 million in research grants each year. More than 3,100 faculty members conduct leading-edge research and develop solutions and technologies that impact human health locally and around the world. World-class facilities and cores, as well as interprofessional centers and institutes, allow faculty to investigate pressing questions in a highly collaborative fashion. As a result, the more than 7,000 students, postdocs, and trainees directly benefit from working and learning alongside leading experts as they push the boundaries of their fields.
About CI Renewables, LLC
CI Renewables, headquartered in Baltimore, develops and owns solar power projects providing commercial and governmental entities as well as educational institutions with significantly lower long-term electric costs through solar power. Founded in 2019 by certain senior management of KDC Solar, LLC, CI purchased KDC Solar from Diamond Castle Holdings, a New York-based private equity fund. Through its subsidiaries, CI has successfully developed, built, and operated more than 50 solar projects (totaling more than 240 megawatts) in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia and is currently developing more than 200 megawatts of solar projects in the Mid-Atlantic. For more information, visit www.cirenew.com.