Friday, November 06, 2009 at 2:39:38 PM - by Danny Vo

Smith College, a girls' college in Northampton, Massachusetts, recently began relying on solar power to power its student center.

The solar array will generate enough power over the next two decades to offset 238 metric tons of carbon emissions - the equivalent, says Smith, of planting 215 acres of trees. The school adds that the panels will produce all the electricity required by the cafe inside the campus center.

The solar array joins an efficient cogeneration plant on Smith's campus. The plant uses a gas turbine to both run a 3500-kilowatt generator and provide heat and hot water to campus buildings. Also, says the school, 99.64 percent of materials from the installation of the plant were recycled.

A power purchase agreement with Community Energy, Inc. will allow Smith to pay a fixed price for the energy produced by the solar panels over 20 years. An added benefit is that Community Energy owns the array and arranged its financing and construction, lessening Smith's responsibility.

Dano Weisbord, environmental sustainability director at Smith, is "thrilled" about placing "this demonstration of renewable power on the … crossroads of our campus."