Invest in New OSU Solar Projects!

The OSU Sustainability Office, Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, and Oregon Clean Power Cooperative invite faculty, staff, and community members to invest in the latest Solarize Corvallis projects: rooftop solar on three OSU buildings. Motivated by the goal of accelerating OSU’s Path to Carbon Neutrality, these projects will reduce OSU’s greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity while benefiting community investors.

These projects will install rooftop solar panels on Beth Ray Center, Milam Hall, and Richardson Hall. A portion of financial support for these projects will come from community investors. The minimum investment is $1,000, with investment rate choices between 1% and 4% APR. Community investment, along with funds from the Energy Trust of Oregon and OSU, will be used by Oregon Clean Power Co-op to cover installation expenses.

The first project, now nearing completion, is a 54 kilowatt (kW) solar system on the roof of the Beth Ray Center for Academic Support. The solar array will provide about 30% of the building’s electricity! Each year it will reduce carbon emissions by around 55 tons and save around $7,500 in electricity costs. This project is now fully funded thanks to community investors!

We now need investors for the second project, a 106 kW system on Milam Hall, which will produce around 25% of that building’s electricity and save around $14,000 per year in electricity costs. The third system will be 178 kW installed on Richardson Hall, and will produce around 10% of that building’s electrical needs, and save around $23,000 in electrical costs annually. All together, these projects will reduce carbon emissions by around 350 tons per year!