Solar panels to cut CO2 output, UCI says

UCI has approved the largest solar power supply project in the UC system, in Orange County and among the largest in the state, school officials announced Wednesday.

The 20-year agreement with Chicago-based solar power supplier UPC Solar, brings 6,500 solar panels to UCI building rooftops at no cost, officials said. The company owns, installs and operates the solar panels and will sell the clean energy to UCI.

The renewable energy source is “cost neutral” for UCI, said Wendell Brase, vice chancellor of administrative and business services. It does not save money for UCI to use solar power, but reduces the university’s carbon dioxide output by approximately 2 million pounds — equivalent to about 200 regular homes in Irvine.

“There’s a pretty sizeable environmental benefit to us,” Brase said. The panels should supply about 1.2 megawatts, or 5% of UCI’s energy needs, he said.

The panels will be installed on 11 UCI buildings starting in March, with the last one in place by November, officials said. Kiosks across campus monitor the system and show pedestrians how much energy is being offset and carbon offset.

UCI is the first to help the UC system reach its goal of providing 10 megawatts of local renewable power by 2014, Brase said.

“I expect to see several more of these at other campuses. This is a very scale-able concept,” he said.

The university has made several “green” ventures in recent years.

The campus won a gold Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design award from the U.S. Building Council for its environmentally friendly Palo Verde 2 student housing development in 2007 and runs all its campus bus fleet on 100% bio-fuel.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.