Campus Green Builder

Facility Use: College/University 2-Year Institution
Project Type: New Construction
Category: Green Design
Location: Monterey Park, CA
District/Inst.: Los Angeles Community College District, Ernest Moreno - President
Completion Date: May 2008
Gross Area: 102,878 sq.ft.
Site size: 2 acres¹

A 1.2 MW AC photovoltaic carport farm was constructed on the Northwest Parking Lot at the East Los Angeles Community College (ELAC) campus to provide green and renewable energy to meet part of the campus’ power needs. The carport farm consists of seven steel carport structures, running east to west, supporting 5,952 photovoltaic panels, which were installed with a 2-degree tilt to the south, to maximize solar irradiation. Each carport structure is of a “T” shape design, with supporting columns running in the mid-span of the carport canopy, which shades a double-parking row.²

The photovoltaic panels were manufactured by Kyocera. Each panel can produce about 200W DC at peak solar irradiance. The panels are circuited in series into “strings,” which are terminated in a combiner box at each carport structure. From the combiner boxes, electrical power is transmitted through underground conduits to two inverters manufactured by Satcon, which convert the DC power to AC. The AC power is then stepped up to 4160V and fed into the existing College electrical grid.³

The photovoltaic carport farm is estimated to produce about 1.5-1.9 Million kWh per year, enabling the College to obtain about 40-45% of its electrical energy from a green, sustainable, and emission free energy source. In addition, the carport structures add shading to about 530 parking spaces, and provide improved parking lot lighting from the new, energy efficient fixtures mounted at the underside of the canopy.⁴

¹, ², ³, and ⁴ Education Design Showcase. "East Los Angeles College - 1 Megawatt Photovoltaic Power Facility." Retrieved October 22, 2009.