Webinar: A Solar PPA Designed for Positive Externalities on July 17 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT
My colleague, Meghan Hoskins from Penn State’s Sustainability Institute, Elizabeth Johnson from The Nature Conservancy, PA and Emilie Wangerman from Lightsource BP will share the rationale for and process of including criteria for institutional benefits, community benefits, and ecosystem services in a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a solar power purchase agreement (PPA). Meghan and I worked on a diverse cross-functional team within Penn State, convened by the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) staff, to draft an RFP the criteria of which included environmental conservation language crafted in partnership with the Pennsylvania office of The Nature Conservancy. We will will discuss the evolution of the RFP, the discussion of integrated sustainability considerations, and the collaboration with The Nature Conservancy. As I’ve said elsewhere, “We hope that because of the way Penn State is a part of the solar energy project, students can see that solar can be done in a communally and ecologically conscious way.” Attendees will learn about including, scoring and ranking of nontraditional criteria in a solar PPA, integrating multiple sustainability goals into one project, and the progress of the project to date regarding ecosystem, community, & academic aspects. We will invite attendees to ask questions and to reflect on possibilities at other institutions. [Text modified from AASHE’s announcement.]
Read about the project in Reuters and Penn State News.
Peter Walks for Democracy 