Cornell is a Land Grant Institution
When Cornell University was founded on April 27, 1865, the New York State (NYS) Senate authorized it as a land grant institution. But what is a land grant institution ?
The Morrill Act of the US Congress (1862) made a deal with states. In return for providing grants of land, states had to establish colleges specializing in “agriculture and the mechanical arts” to provide skills for the public good of the state.
In the case of Cornell University, this grant was added to a farm donated by NYS Senator Ezra Cornell (source).
Of course, Cornell University has grown beyond agriculture and engineering (“mechanical arts”) in its curriculum. However, what has stayed constant is this foundation as an institution with a public mission.
Another constant has been its status as a land grant institution. Which means that it owns a lot of land. Some of this farmland has been allocated for the purpose of solar farming.
Cornell's Plan for Carbon Neutrality
The Cornell Climate Action Plan is Cornell University’s plan to combat climate change. It consists of three parts.
Part I is the goal of achieving carbon neutrality on campus by 2035.
Part II is the development of interdisciplinary climate research and teaching; with the very practical aim of coming up with scalable low-carbon solutions which can be put to use on campus.
Part III consists of collaborative partnerships with other local and international institutions to “accelerate” impact on climate change solutions.
Carbon Neutrality on Campus by 2035
Main Campus - Facilities
Farmers are by necessity and vocation interested in sustainability. Therefore with the land grant mission and a premier Agriculture School from the very beginning, Cornell has been a leader in sustainability since the early 1880s.
Nevertheless the Cornell Climate Action Plan has propelled the University to integrate sustainability on campus. The focus has been the design of a sustainable campus.
This includes: “smart” buildings; environmentally friendly landscaping; groundwater recycling; smart materials management; food supply chain management; low carbon transportation to and from campus; and renewable energy systems to power laboratories, classrooms and residential facilities (source).
A very concrete example of these initiatives is rooftop solar. The picture above is one of many rooftop solar installations on the Ithaca campus. Multiple structures like this ensures that 0.09 MW of energy generation on the Ithaca campus if from rooftop solar alone.
Outer Campus - Community Solar Farms
Cornell's Cascadilla Community Solar Farm
Cornell University has been one of the pioneers in the facilitation of Community Solar through the use of their own land. Few educational institutions anywhere in the world have the commitment to Solar Farming which Cornell has demonstrated. Below is a complete list of their Solar Farms. [What is Solar Farming and Community Solar ? Go here.]
Solar Farm | MW | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
Cypress Creek | 3 | Catskill | New York |
Cascadilla Community Solar Farm | 18 (Multiple Farms) | Game Farm Road, Ithaca | New York |
Snyder Road | 1.76 | Lansing | New York |
Geneva Farm | 2 | Geneva | New York |
Harford Farm | 2 | Hartford | New York |
Musgrave East and West | 4 | Aurora | New York |
Interdisciplinary Climate Teaching and Research
Feeding the very practical technologies applied on campus is a program of teaching and research aimed directly at sustainability and climate change. The interdisciplinary nature of climate change means the problem is being attacked by multiple initiatives across campus.
This includes:
Collaborative Partnerships
21 higher-education institutions in New York, including Cornell University, have formed a consortium to purchase electricity from new renewable energy sources built 2020-2023. It is named the New York Higher Education Large Scale Renewable Energy consortium. The purpose of the consortium is to reduce risk and thereby financing costs (source).
All of these projects will be in New York State. This is because of the incentives provided by the State as part of a goal of 100% carbon-free electricity for New York State by 2040.
The consortium includes both public and 4 private higher-educational institutions:
Participating Private Institutions:
Cornell University
Bard College
Ithaca College
Skidmore College
Participating Public (SUNY) campuses:
University at Albany
Binghamton University
Purchase College
Hudson Valley Community College
Onondaga Community College
Cobleskill
Cortland
Empire State College
ESF
Geneseo
Delhi
Maritime
New Paltz
Oneonta
Conclusion
Talk is cheap. What matters is follow through. Cornell University has demonstrated that ability to execute against a vision. From its start as a land grant institution, Cornell has adapted its world class skills in "agriculture and the mechanical arts" into a role of global leadership in sustainability and climate change. One legacy of which is Community Solar.
Do you have any subscriptions left in Ithaca ?
Yes ! In fact our partnership organizations are some of the few to have capacity left in the Ithaca area. Each solar farm at most supports around 360 homes. Therefore they go fast. Select the yellow button above and you can see both availability and do an application if you qualify.
My family owns a number of rental properties. Would each of these qualify separately ?
Depends. If a property sells solar to the grid through say solar panels then they don’t qualify. Also the consumption per property has to be below a max amount. Send us an email at dave@solar.planetrenewal.com and we can look at your particular situation.
totally rad dude. never heard about this. will talk to my parents.
Thanks for your interest. Yes this is a win-win and a great idea for your parents or even students sharing off-campus housing.
Recently got Tesla roof tiles. Does this preclude me from participating ?
Great question. The Tesla roof tiles charge extra to hook it up to the grid. In addition you have to pay annually to keep it hooked up. Our experience has been that since you’ll only sell energy to the grid when the Tesla battery is full, it is unlikely the amount you’ll sell (if any) will exceed the annual costs if you live in Upstate New York. Therefore many Tesla tile owners don’t connect to the grid. In that case yes you would qualify. However, if you are connected to the grid, no you would not qualify.
Just signed up with a green energy company which supplies electricity through NYSEG. Is this the same thing ? Bit confusing.
This is a question we get a lot. The green energy company sounds like am Energy Supply Company (ESCO). Many of these companies claim to sell green energy even if they have a wind farm in Texas contributing to their network in Texas. It does not mean necessarily that you are getting green energy from your area. However, Community Solar Arms are different from ESCOs. You can keep your green energy company and still qualify for Community Solar in most of these instances.
I’m renting a house. Do I qualify ? Been meaning to participate in solar energy but I’ve never owned a roof to put solar panels on. This sounds neat !
As long as you pay the utility bill and it is in your name you should qualify. Apply and see ! You’re exactly the type of person this program is designed for.