As Wind Turbine Project Nears Completion, the University Gets Closer to Renewable Energy Goals

Solar panels against a partly cloudy blue sky.

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It has been nearly a year since the Arizona Corporation Commission approved the large-scale renewable energy agreement between the University of Arizona and Tucson Electric Power Co. The deal will mitigate 100% of the University's scope 2 emissions – which are emissions generated by energy purchased from a utility provider – by enabling the University to procure exclusively renewable energy from TEP for the next 20 years.

"The LSRE agreement with TEP is big news," said Trevor Ledbetter, director of the Office of Sustainability. "It represents the largest bilateral agreement between a utility company and a university in North America."

So, what's the status of the project as it approaches its slated deadline of December 2020?

The Oso Grande Wind Project is on schedule to go online Dec. 1. It will generate up to 247 megawatts of energy for the University and other TEP customers. The 24,000-acre site southeast of Roswell, New Mexico, includes 61 wind turbines.

TEP expects the Wilmot Energy Center to be online in mid-spring 2021. It will include a 100-megawatt solar array and a 30-megawatt energy storage system, each the largest of their kind on TEP's local energy grid. The system will include approximately 314,000 solar panels on 1,130 acres southeast of Tucson International Airport.

"The University made a commitment to reach greenhouse gas neutrality by or before 2040 as part of the strategic plan," Ledbetter said. "This is a significant step forward toward that goal."