The University of California, Davis and SunPower Corporation plan to build a 16MW, ground-mounted solar power plant that is expected to generate 14 per cent of UC Davis' electricity needs. The university anticipates that -- when the plant is completed in 2015 -- more than one-third of total electricity demand on campus will be served from carbon-neutral energy sources.

Upon completion, the project will be the largest solar power installation in the University of California system, and the largest solar power plant to offset the electricity demand of a US university or college campus, according to SunPower and UC Davis.

"UC Davis is already a national and international leader in sustainability, but this new project truly puts us in a league of our own," said UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi. "We are pleased to join with SunPower in making this solar plant a reality and hope that the success of this public/private partnership spurs similar initiatives at universities across the country."

The plant, to be built on a 70-acre site south of Interstate 80, will be owned and operated by SunPower, which will also design and construct the project. The plant will improve the University's ability to accurately budget for electricity costs, and UC Davis anticipates that it will provide an effective long-term hedge against future utility rate increases.

"SunPower's first project on the UC Davis campus included the design and construction of 4MW of high- efficiency SunPower technology to power the UC Davis West Village neighborhood, the nation's largest net-zero community," said Howard Wenger, SunPower president. "The university's vision to integrate cost-effective, sustainable energy solutions is unparalleled, and is further advanced by this milestone commitment to build the nation's largest solar plant to offset electricity demand of a university campus."

SunPower will install its SunPower® Oasis® Power Plant technology at the site, which uses single-axis tracking technology to position high-efficiency solar panels to track the sun throughout the day, increasing energy capture by up to 25 per cent over fixed-tilt solar technology. The technology includes robotic panel cleaning capability that reduces water usage by approximately 90 per cent over traditional cleaning methods.