SunDurance Energy Wins Solar Canopy Contract for Medical Center
The contract, funded with some ARRA money, was awarded by The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
SunDurance Energy of Edison, N.J., has been awarded a $2 million contract to design and build a 300-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) energy system for The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The project is being funded with a grant provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (80 percent of the cost), with the remainder from funds provided by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Construction will begin this month and is scheduled to be completed by August.
The design uses one of the university’s open and sunny parking lots, where approximately 1,275 solar panels will be mounted on elevated structures over 160 parking spaces.
“We are finding that more clients are interested in unlocking the extra value available in their parking lots by hosting solar energy systems,” said Al Bucknam, SunDurance Energy CEO. “The parking canopy application avoids the potential complications that can come with aging or cluttered rooftops, adds incremental economic value by lowering the university’s energy spending, and provides some vehicle coverage from sun and rain.”
The system is estimated to provide just over 400,000 kW hours of electricity each year.
Kirby Vahle, UT Southwestern vice president for facilities management, said, “We are delighted to partner with SunDurance Energy to create a solar power solution for the university. Our mission is to lower our energy expenses while at the same time advance our ecological efforts by harnessing a renewable energy source to shrink our carbon footprint.”
Source: SunDurance Energy, LLC