Bison Solar at Bucknell University

Encore worked with Bucknell University to develop, finance and construct a 1.76 MWp solar array located on the University’s campus in Lewisburg, PA. The new array will allow the University to secure approximately 10% of its electrical energy requirements from a clean, carbon-free resource. The project is also the first renewable energy project to be advanced by the University as part of its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

Bucknell expects to save up to $700,000 on the cost of its electricity over the initial 30 years of the system’s life. In addition, the University intends to incorporate the project into its academic program across all three of its colleges, Arts & Sciences, Management, and Engineering with each having specific areas of interest including the financing and economics of clean energy projects, considerations relating to the deployment of the project within the context of Bucknell’s path to carbon neutrality, and technical design and equipment considerations, amongst others.

The project began construction in September 2021 and was commissioned in the December 2022. Additionally, the array will feature pollinator-friendly ground cover to offer a lower maintenance ground cover while also providing critical habitat for the dwindling number of native pollinators which are critical for our future food supply needs.