Campus Green Builder

East Los Angeles College (ELAC), the first LACCD campus to install a $9 million 1.2 megawatt project which will provide almost half of the college’s daytime power needs, is part of the Los Angeles Community College District’s (LACCD) Renewable Energy Plan and is a major component in the sustained effort to take all nine of its colleges “off the grid.”¹  ELAC selected Chevron Energy Solutions (CES), a unit of Chevron Corporation, to partner in this effort. Chevron designed and installed the system at its campus in Monterey Park, California. As stated in the revised proposal dated 15 January 2007, a Notice to Proceed was issued to Chevron Energy Solutions for the design and construction of the solar panel system in July 2006. The proposal review letter can be viewed here. In addition, CES assisted the college in arranging project financing with MMA Renewable Ventures, a third-party partner, and selected the sub-contractors that performed the installation and construction. The document outlines the cost and expenses associated with the construction as well as an analysis of the costs associated with the operations and return on investment.

MMA Renewable Ventures owns and sells power from the solar facility to the college within a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement, at a cost significantly less than what the institution otherwise might end up paying to the local utility. By entering into a Solar Services and Site Lease Agreement with the Chevron Energy Solutions, East Los Angeles College acts as a landlord to the company by leasing a portion of the property where the solar energy system is constructed. The company will provide maintenance for the solar system throughout the first few years, during which it owns the system. After seven years, the Los Angeles Community College District has the option to purchase the facility from MMA Renewable Ventures. A new contract may be considered in which the institution might retain Chevron to maintain the system or the responsibility entirely gets transferred to the institution and the LACCD. The Memorandum of Lease dated 11 March 2008 could be found here. This will offer more detailed insight into the arrangements made between the East Los Angeles College and its partners in this venture.

¹ Los Angeles Community College District. (April 22, 2008) "Press Release". Retrieved September 2, 2009.