November 13, 2008 By Elaine Rundle
Yesterday California launched a public-private partnership to provide solar power at 15 California State University (CSU) campuses and the CSU executive office. The partnership with SunEdison will provide 8 MW of solar power to the campuses.
It's predicated that the 8 MW of power will provide 12 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy - or 5 percent of the entire CSU system's yearly energy consumption, according to a press release from the state.
"California is going green, and we are doing it first and we are doing it fast," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the press release. "With the partnership being announced today [Nov. 12, 2008] between California and SunEdison, we are seeing more tangible results and more follow-through in reducing our state's carbon footprint. This partnership is a good deal for the state, the planet and our economy - all at no cost to taxpayers."
The solar panels will be installed on campus rooftops and parking canopies, and there will be in-ground panels at selected locations.
Through a power-purchase agreement, CSU will buy the renewable power at or below the current retail rates and avoid paying for the system's installation. This program is part of a solar-purchase agreement arranged by the state's Department of General Services, in which the California-SunEdison partnership will provide the state with approximately 20 MW of renewable energy. Other participants include the departments of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Mental Health.
This Digital Communities white paper highlights discussions with IT officials in four counties that have adopted shared services models. Our aim was to learn about the obstacles these governments have faced when it comes to shared services and what it takes to overcome those roadblocks. We also spoke with several members of the IT industry who have thought long and hard about these issues. The paper offers some best practices for shared government-to-government services, but also points out challenges that government and industry still must overcome before this model gains widespread adoption.
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