Butte College Phase 3 Solar Grid | Oroville, California

DPR, along with Joint Venture partner Chico Electric, constructed a ground-breaking project that supplies over 100 percent of Butte College’s electricity needs. The Phase 3 solar project added approximately 15,000 solar photovoltaic panels, totaling 2.7 megawatts, to its existing 10,000 solar panels.

The project team installed 12 solar arrays at the school’s main campus and one at its satellite location in Chico, CA. The majority of the panels are mounted to canopies, carports and shade structures; additional panels are ground-mounted.

Phase 3 allows Butte College to generate 6.381 million kWh per year, making it the country’s first grid-positive college. At the completion of this project, Butte College was the largest solar producing college in the world with a system total of 4.5 megawatts of clean renewable energy generation capability.