Lendlease, University of Pittsburgh sign PPA for 20 MW Gaucho Solar project in Beaver and Allegheny Counties

Lendlease and the University of Pittsburgh has announced a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the 20-megawatt (MW) Gaucho Solar project. Pitt will purchase all of the 33,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of annual energy production from the solar project to be located on 70 acres in the Independence and Findlay Townships of Beaver and Allegheny Counties in Pennsylvania. Subject to project approvals, the solar installation will begin operations in mid-2022 and the site will become one of the largest solar projects in Western Pennsylvania.

The agreement will advance the University’s sustainability goals, including its commitment to be a carbon neutral campus by 2037, by supplying approximately 13 percent of the Pittsburgh campus’ annual electricity usage. Lendlease also has agreed to install pollinator-friendly landscaping at the site, in line with Pitt’s Sustainable Landscape Design Guidelines.

Combining this PPA for clean solar power with Pitt’s plan to purchase hydropower from a plant to be built along the Allegheny River, it is anticipated that at least 38 percent of the University’s electricity will come from local, renewable sources by 2023.