The 20.8-acre Solar Farm, designed, built, and operated by Phoenix Solar South Farms LLC, will produce an estimated 7.86 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) or approximately 2% of the FY15 electrical demand for the Urbana campus. The Solar Farm is located on the south side of Windsor Road between First Street and the railroad tracks.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a 10-year power purchase agreement with Phoenix Solar to deliver all electricity produced by the Solar Farm directly to the campus grid. In addition, the University will own/receive all current and future Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and emission credits associated with energy from the 4.68 megawatt (MW) Solar Farm.
The solar panels used on the farm will exhibit normal degradation over time, however, the Solar Farm is still expected to generate up to 91% of its original output even in year 20 of the project.