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, a 44 kilowatt (kW) solar system on the roof of the Beth Ray Center for Academic Support, is now complete! 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 was partly funded by community investors like you!

We now need investors for the second project, a 340 kW system on Richardson Hall, which will produce around 12% of that building’s electricity and save around $42,000 per year in electricity costs. The third system will be 100 kW installed on Milam Hall. We are currently awaiting utility approval to move ahead with the Milam Hall project. When complete, it 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 over 400 tons per year!