On August 23, 2017, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the signing of multiple large-scale solar energy contracts by Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV) member schools. CICV received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Sunshot Initiative for a Solar Market Pathways Grant, which will help support bringing solar energy to CICV member schools.

The announcement took place at Virginia Union University, one of four schools statewide which have signed contracts with the selected vendor. The other three schools are Randolph-Macon College, Lynchburg College, and Washington & Lee University. The story was covered by several news outlets, including WRIC and WDBJ7.

Attending on behalf of Randolph-Macon College was President Robert R. Lindgren, Baxter Carter ’18, Syreen Goulmamine ’18, and Edward Saunders III ’18, along with Buzz, the college mascot (Madi Moore ’21).

Also in attendance were Robert Lambeth, President of the CIVC; Charlie Gay, Solar Energy Technologies Office Director for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the DOE; Joseph F. Johnson, Acting President, Virginia Union University; a representative from Tesla, Inc.; members of the Governor’s Cabinet and key elected officials; Randolph Hare, Executive Director of University Facilities at Washington & Lee University; and Steve Bright, CFO at Lynchburg College.

Embracing Renewable Energy
“This event highlights the leadership of Virginia’s private colleges in embracing renewable energy,” said Lambeth. “Beyond making our facilities more energy efficient, these solar installations also will serve as a ‘living classroom’ for our students pursuing careers in this tremendous growth industry. Our faculty and students will have access to industry-leading engineering and scientific discoveries that are driving solar technology advancements. CICV is excited to be able to give our students first-hand access to these innovations, which will provide them with valuable, hands-on experience that will translate to careers in renewable energy. Renewable energy is an increasingly large piece of our country’s power generation mix. Through the Sunshot Initiative, CICV’s students will have access to the tools and training to enter this high-growth workforce.”

RMC’s Commitment to Solar Energy
Randolph-Macon has committed to install solar-energy panels on its new science building, Macon F. Brock, Jr. Hall, which was dedicated on June 23, 2017. The installation, which will be completed in roughly six months, will include an array of 64kW. RMC’s other solar installations include a college-owned installation in Andrews Hall and a Dominion Research installation of 265 solar panels on Copley Science Center.

Trailblazers
Virginia’s private colleges have been the Commonwealth’s trailblazers, not just in the higher education community but among all public and private sector institutions, in adopting renewable energy. These advances have spanned a variety of clean energy sources, including solar and others. Six CICV schools have signed contracts with Collegiate Clean Energy for electricity generated by landfill gas.

The solar projects supported by the DOE’s Sunshot Initiative will build on more than 660 kW of prior solar installations at the following CICV member schools in recent years: Randolph-Macon College, Eastern Mennonite University, Washington & Lee University, University of Richmond, and Virginia Union University. Twelve additional schools are participating in the DOE grant project, and CICV anticipates that these schools will sign contracts in the coming months to install solar panels on their campuses. 

Partnership + Collaboration
Through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, the CICV in Virginia will develop and implement its Solar Market Pathways collaboration and install solar panels at member colleges. These solar programs will provide CICV member schools with state-of-the-art solar technology and educational opportunities for students to learn more about renewable energy.

About the CICV
The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia was founded in 1971 and is a nonprofit organization representing 28 accredited nonprofit independent colleges and universities in Virginia. CICV advocates for its member institutions and their students, encourages collaboration among member colleges, conducts research on the role of independent higher education and promotes the contributions of Virginia’s independent colleges to the public.