Midwest Renewable Energy Association
Highlights
- Worked with universities in the Midwest and beyond to develop solar investment proposals for consideration by university governance boards.
- Engaged student deployment teams on each campus to build student, faculty, and alumni support for PV deployment and investment.
- Developed a University Roadmap for Solar Investment for use by universities and colleges across the U.S.
- Hosted trips and professional development events for staff and faculty at U.S. universities to showcase projects and pathways to greater PV deployment and investment.
- Developed a web-based tool for tax-exempt (and taxable) entities to simulate long-term financial forecasts of four types of solar PV investment.
Background
Universities in the Midwest are part of an emerging solar PV market. At the project outset in 2014, this region had only 3% of the nation’s installed solar capacity, but was experiencing the fastest growth rate of any region in the U.S. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) worked with universities to spur solar development at universities throughout the country by creating solar PV investment proposals for consideration by governance boards on each campus and sharing lessons learned nationally. The MREA team engaged local stakeholders and regional and national experts to create a solar project development roadmap for engaging universities and their foundations in large-scale solar deployment (more than 1 MW) and solar power procurement investment.
Partnering Universities:
Illinois State University
Minnesota State University – Iron Range Engineering*
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Purdue University
Swarthmore College*
University of Minnesota
University of Richmond*
University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
University of Vermont*
Virginia Commonwealth University*
* denotes preliminary partnerships
Applied Online Course and Campus Roadmaps
MREA engaged student deployment teams at each campus to build student, faculty, and alumni support for solar PV deployment and investment. These teams used the MREA Site Assessment Certification Program to complete site assessments, select potential project sites, and develop a solar investment proposal for each campus. These proposals also recommended the adoption of campus solar deployment goals, on- and off-campus solar investment policies, and the approval of competitive solicitation for solar installation contractors. The project and student teams sought to engage university foundations in building a campaign to rally alumni and donor support for solar deployment. MREA further supported the student teams in concerted campus-wide efforts to organize support for the student-led proposals to governance boards at partnering university campuses.
Campus teams utilized MREA’s online PV certificate programs, encompassing courses, and internship offerings—including the MREA PV Site Assessment Certificate and the MREA PV Design and Sales Certificate—to prepare for the roadmapping process and incentivize student participation. Four partnering campuses created working roadmaps and used site assessments to develop a solar investment proposal for their campuses, which included recommendations for:
- The adoption of campus solar deployment goals based on the site assessments.
- The adoption of policies to guide university investment in solar assets, both on and off campus.
- The approval of a competitive solicitation for full development, financing, installation, and operation to advance campus solar deployment goals.
Campus PV Development Roadmap- University of Wisconsin Stevens ... Campus PV Development Roadmap- University of Wisconsin Stevens Point
This roadmap features development plans for on campus PV including stakeholder mapping, site assessment, financial modeling, legal/regulatory review and recommendations for investment.
Campus PV Development Roadmap- Illinois State University Campus PV Development Roadmap- Illinois State University
This roadmap features development plans for on campus PV including stakeholder mapping, site assessment, financial modeling, legal/regulatory review and recommendations for investment.
Campus PV Development Roadmap Template Campus PV Development Roadmap Template
The Campus PV Development Roadmap serves as the guiding framework for solar PV development for the university campus and associated properties.
Campus PV Development Roadmap- University of Minnesota Campus PV Development Roadmap- University of Minnesota
This roadmap features development plans for on campus PV including stakeholder mapping, site assessment, financial modeling, legal/regulatory review and recommendations for investment.
In addition to the PV and site assessment training offered to students, MREA created a Campus PV Development course to guide partnering campus teams through the solar roadmapping process. Based on lessons learned from the first teams to complete the course, MREA added new instructors and materials, and opened the course up nationally to other teams seeking to move forward with solar investments at their institutions. This updated course, PV Development for Institutions, takes a high-level look at some of the legal and regulatory issues that universities and colleges will face when they decide to deploy solar PV systems, including:
- Ownership and third-party models
- Goals and objectives for deploying solar, and the importance of institutions focusing on these goals and objectives
- Sources of authority for institutions to act
- Possible constraints on an institution’s authority to act (organizational, statutory, and contractual)
- Local government procedures and constraints institutions will face (including utility issues, zoning, permitting, and inspection)
- Ways endowment funds could help with solar projects
- Unique issues relating to agreements with utilities and tax-exempt financing
By expanding and applying these efforts to a new cohort of higher education institutions, MREA seeks to further enable the higher education community to deploy PV and make investments that advance their foundation and sustainability goals.
Resources
PV Project Development Course PV Project Development Course
This applied course guides you through creating a unique PV roadmap for your campus, tax-exempt, or taxable entity based on lessons learned from MREA’s pilot campuses.
PV Development for Institutions Course Syllabus PV Development for Institutions Course Syllabus
The course syllabus for the PV Development for Institutions course offered January 29-March 25, 2018.
PV Development Considerations ... PV Development Considerations Module
Brad Rutledge presents the second module of the PV Development for Institutions course, PV Development Considerations.
Module 2 Office Hours: PV Development ... Module 2 Office Hours: PV Development Considerations
Recorded office hours for MREA’s second module from the course PV Development Considerations, PV Development Considerations.
MREA Site Assessment Certification Program MREA Site Assessment Certification Program
MREA’s online courses include: Basic Photovoltaics, PV Site Assessor Training, PV System Design, and PV Sales and Finance.
MREA Site Assessment Certificate ... MREA Site Assessment Certificate and Course in Applied PV Development
The PV Site Assessment Certificate for university students and course in Applied Campus PV Development are presented as a potential model for higher education institutions to adopt.
Campus PV Development Roadmap- University of Wisconsin Stevens ... Campus PV Development Roadmap- University of Wisconsin Stevens Point
This roadmap features development plans for on campus PV including stakeholder mapping, site assessment, financial modeling, legal/regulatory review and recommendations for investment.
Campus PV Development Roadmap- Illinois State University Campus PV Development Roadmap- Illinois State University
This roadmap features development plans for on campus PV including stakeholder mapping, site assessment, financial modeling, legal/regulatory review and recommendations for investment.
Campus PV Development Roadmap Template Campus PV Development Roadmap Template
The Campus PV Development Roadmap serves as the guiding framework for solar PV development for the university campus and associated properties.
Campus PV Development Roadmap- University of Minnesota Campus PV Development Roadmap- University of Minnesota
This roadmap features development plans for on campus PV including stakeholder mapping, site assessment, financial modeling, legal/regulatory review and recommendations for investment.
Solar University Network
Working with a Solar Developer ... Working with a Solar Developer to Make PV Investments on Your Campus
This webinar covers the PV Development Process, Key Considerations for US universities, and strategies for conducting a successful competitive solicitation.
Key highlights include:
- A visit to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to review preliminary PV Development Roadmaps prepared by each university’s student deployment team.
- The “Ramping Up Renewables” workshop with Altenex, Boston University, and the EPA’s Green Power Partnership (presentations: Illinois State University, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of Minnesota Duluth, TurningPoint Energy, Second Nature, and MREA). Each campus team had one-on-one meetings with MREA, Second Nature, and TurningPoint Energy to discuss opportunities and barriers to solar development.
- The Intentionally Designed Endowments Forum focused on opportunities for higher education institutions to invest in renewable energy and culminated in the release of the Investing in Clean Energy: Campuses and Endowments white paper.
Investment in Solar
Solar Finance Simulator Tutori... Solar Finance Simulator Tutorial
This tutorial shows how to use the Solar Finance Simulator to simulate long-term financial forecasting for PV investments.
MREA, together with its partners, set out to develop solar investment proposals and campaigns for engaging alumni, donors, and university governance boards in renewable energy investment. As a first step, the MREA team created a case study series highlighting solar energy investment projects in higher education to showcase financial models for universities and other higher education institutions looking to invest in on-campus solar energy.
Wake Technical Community College: Public College Foundation Investment ... Wake Technical Community College: Public College Foundation Investment in Solar
This case study follows the decision-making and PV project development path at Wake Technical College and illustrates the investment potential for institutional foundations.
Luther College: Third-Party, Supporter-Financed Campus Solar ... Luther College: Third-Party, Supporter-Financed Campus Solar An Approach and a Partnership that Works
This case study highlights how Luther College leveraged donor and supporter-financed funding methods to deploy solar pv on campus.
Appalachian State University: Supporting Solar Energy through ... Appalachian State University: Supporting Solar Energy through a Student-Financed Renewable Energy Initiative
This case study highlights how Appalachian State University supported solar energy and education on campus through innovative and self-financed renewable energy-focused student funds.
Colby College: Developing a Diverse Solar & Carbon Neutrality ... Colby College: Developing a Diverse Solar & Carbon Neutrality Strategy
This case study follows the decision-making and project development pathway at a small liberal arts college that reached carbon neutrality two years ahead of its goal.
MREA also partnered with the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) to support higher education institutions and other mission-driven organizations in aligning their endowment investment practices with their missions, values, and sustainability goals. IEN hosts forums and releases documents focused on sustainable investment practices. Recent publications include:
- Investing in Clean Energy: Campuses and Endowments
- Intentionally Designed Endowments Primer
- The Business Case for Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors
Resources
Investing in Clean Energy for Campuses ... Investing in Clean Energy for Campuses and Endowments
This webinar provides an overview of the report: Investing in Clean Energy: Campuses and Endowments.
Innovation in Solar Energy Finance ... Innovation in Solar Energy Finance and Development
This webinar focuses on four case studies highlighting higher education investment in solar energy projects.
Solar Finance Simulator Solar Finance Simulator
The Solar Finance Simulator is an easy-to-use online tool to simulate long-term financial forecasting for PV investments.
Intentionally Designed Endowments Intentionally Designed Endowments
This primer provides a high level overview of the field of sustainable investing, including a brief history and links to key resources and relevant organizations.
The Business Case for Environmental, Social and Governance F... The Business Case for Environmental, Social and Governance Factors
This briefing paper describes what Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing is and how ESG investing and analysis can be approached.
Investing in Clean Energy: Campuses and Endowments Investing in Clean Energy: Campuses and Endowments
This report encourages conversation around the financial and societal benefits clean energy investments in higher education can make through their endowments.
New Tools to Accelerate Solar ... New Tools to Accelerate Solar Deployment
Tools to expand into new markets, including the Solar Finance Simulator, a community solar Business Case Tool, and a system sizing tool.
Next Steps and Key Takeaways
MREA has learned that higher education institutions are primed for the next wave of large-scale solar in the U.S. The success of their student-based projects demonstrated that students are a driving force on campus. By using their status to gain access to internal stakeholders, students have the ability to develop projects that fit the institution’s direct needs. They also have the ability to mobilize many different groups on campus, creating the momentum to advance large-scale solar projects. Institutional champions are equally important when determining a project’s success. The role of the internal champion—staff, faculty, alumni, or another internal stakeholder—is to guide student teams, translate their research and momentum into an attractive option for the institution, and work with internal stakeholders to get the project approved.
Internal champions capable of gaining access to the information that can determine a project’s success are also important when considering how local politics or internal drivers—like a push to decrease tuition—may affect a project. Similarly, on- and off-campus relationships can alter the likelihood of success.
The presence of supportive policy is another determinant of institutional success. In the absence of enabling policy (e.g., absent net metering regulations or ambiguous legal status of power purchase agreements), large-scale solar PV investments are higher risk and offer less potential payoff, often tipping the scale away from widespread campus support. Conversely, clear and supportive policies decrease investment risk by limiting unknown variables and offer financing mechanisms more favorable to institutions.