The 2,600 solar panels that will be installed on a University of Maryland, College Park building this summer will be one of the largest rooftop solar power systems in Maryland. The university was selected as a Maryland Energy Administration Project Sunburst Initiative Partner and was awarded a grant aimed at promoting the installation of renewable energy systems on public buildings in Maryland. As a result of a competitive bid process, Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc. (WGES) will finance the remainder of the project cost and UMD will purchase the electricity generated by the solar panels under a 20-year agreement with WGES. By the second quarter of 2011, the solar power system will be installed and operating on the roof of UMD's Severn building, a multi-purpose facility located less than a mile from the College Park campus. The 631kW system, which will be installed by Standard Solar Inc. of Rockville, Md., and owned and operated by WGES, will produce about 792 megawatt-hours of electricity each year.

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