Calvin University in Grand Rapids on Thursday, June 18, 2020. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)Cory Morse | MLive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Calvin University is advancing its pledge to become carbon neutral by 2057 by partnering with an Indiana-based solar company that will help accelerate the university’s transition to solar energy.

Tim Fennema, Calvin’s vice president of administration and finance, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Sun FundED, of Carmel, Indiana, to begin evaluating a partnership that would expand clean energy use on Calvin’s campus, the university announced in a July 8 news release.

Calvin is looking to pursue a model offered by the company called Solar-as-a-Service, which is designed specifically for educational institutions. Calvin is the first university in Michigan to pursue the model, according to the release.

Under the solar energy model, Sun FundED brings in its own technical expertise to develop, construct and operate the solar array at the university, and Calvin would not have to lay out any capital for the project.

The way it works is Sun FundED uses outside investors who fund the capital requirements of the project, Fennema explained to MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. In exchange, the company monetizes renewable energy tax credits, which schools can’t use anyway because they’re not for profit.

The result is that schools can dramatically cut their operating expenses and mitigate the risks of investing in solar energy, all while supporting sustainability and educating students about green power, according to the university.

“What it allows us to do is expand the amount of our electricity that would be generated by solar power, greater than we could do on our own if we were to invest our own dollars into it,” Fennema told MLive.

The partnership will advance one of the university’s core commitments to adapting to a changing climate, which was prioritized in 2017 by outgoing president Michael Le Roy, who just stepped down last month. He is replaced by Wiebe Boer, who will be officially inaugurated as Calvin University’s 11th president this fall.

“By signing the President’s Climate Commitment in 2017, Le Roy made clear Calvin’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2057,” Fennema said in a statement. “The action we took this past week propels that vision forward and communicates to our community that we are dedicated to ensuring that Calvin’s long-held value of caring for creation will only grow stronger in the years ahead.”

In addition to the energy savings of the project, a partnership with Sun FundED would also have educational benefits for Calvin, Fennema said.

The company offers an educational platform, called SAMI, that is designed to help “students and educators adopt all things sustainable and renewable-focused, such as projects, activities, STEM, Trades, scholarships, and more,” according to the release.

“This is really also a focus for us as a university to drive student engagement in the environmental initiatives, and to also attract students from that,” Fennema told MLive.

Kelly Hipskind, a co-founder of Sun FundED, spent time on Calvin’s campus early on in the process to determine how implementing solar would support the university’s sustainability goals, academic experience and long-term strategic plan.

Hipskind said the university and the company aligned immediately on their respective sustainability goals, and that Sun FundED is excited to offer its services to Calvin.

“I have met with thousands of school leaders across the country over my career serving schools, and I must say, Calvin University from the very first meeting had one of the clearest visions for renewables and energy efficiency of any school I have ever met with,” Hipskind said in a statement.

The next phase in the university’s potential partnership with Sun FundED is for the company to evaluate Calvin’s sites – everything from its land, to roof tops, to carports on campus. Then, Calvin will work with the company to figure out how much electricity they’d be able to generate.

If they move forward with the partnership, it would take around 18 months for the company to complete construction of the solar array on Calvin’s campus, Fennema said.

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