Off-Site Large- Scale Renewable Energy

Investing in off-site renewable energy

Bowman Wind and Big Elm Solar

In 2024, MIT announced that it is co-leading an effort to enable the development of two new large-scale renewable energy projects in regions with carbon-intensive electrical grids: Big Elm Solar in Bell County, Texas, came online this year, and the Bowman Wind Project in Bowman County, North Dakota, is expected to be operational in 2026. Together, they will add a combined 408 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy capacity to the power grid. This work is a critical part of MIT’s strategy to achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2026.

The Consortium for Climate Solutions, which includes MIT and 10 other Massachusetts organizations, seeks to eliminate close to 1 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year — more than five times the annual direct emissions from MIT’s campus — by committing to purchase an estimated 1.3-million-megawatt hours of new solar and wind electricity generation annually.

Big Elm Solar and Bowman Wind Benefits and Impact

The Consortium for Climate Solutions is a unique collaboration between higher education institutions, healthcare systems, a municipality and nonprofit cultural organizations in Massachusetts, which are dedicated to advancing joint climate goals through investment in the development of new renewable energy projects. To advance collective climate goals, the Consortium for Climate Solutions members will procure over 1.3 million megawatt-hours (MWh)/year from two renewable energy projects, a solar array in Texas and a wind farm in North Dakota.

Big Elm Solar, a 200 MW solar energy project in Bell County, Texas, recently came online and will produce an estimated 500,000 MWh/year. Bowman Wind, a 208 MW wind energy project in Bowman County, North Dakota, will produce an estimated 860,000 MWh/year and is expected to come online in 2026. Both projects will be developed, constructed, owned, and operated by Apex Clean Energy.  

Impact
The 1.3 million MWh/year of clean electricity generated on behalf of the Consortium buyers by the two projects will avoid the release of over 950,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) into the atmosphere, which is equal to the emissions from 130,000 homes’ electricity consumption over one year.

Beyond generating tangible environmental benefits, including the contribution of approximately $400,000 to regional conservation efforts, Bowman and Big Elm will inject significant economic benefits to their local and state economies. Collectively, the two will create approximately $64 million in tax revenue for their communities, 750 jobs during construction, and a new and long-term source of income for local farmers and landowners, totaling $100 million over the 30-year lives of the projects.

To learn more about the projects and the Consortium for Climate Solutions, explore the FAQs 

 

Summit Farms

In October 2016, MIT announced the formation of an innovative alliance with Boston Medical Center and Post Office Square Redevelopment Corporation to purchase electricity from a large new solar power installation. The 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) will add carbon-free energy to the grid while demonstrating a partnership model for other organizations in climate-change mitigation efforts. The expected 146 gigawatt-hours of emissions-free power per year will eliminate approximately 119,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions — the equivalent of removing 25,250 cars from the road.

The agreement has enabled the construction of a roughly 650-acre, 60-megawatt solar farm on farmland in North Carolina. Called Summit Farms, the facility is the largest renewable-energy project ever built in the U.S. through an alliance of diverse buyers. MIT’s purchase of power from this facility’s 255,000 solar panels is equivalent to 40 percent of the Institute’s current electricity use.

Summit Farms Benefits and Impact

MIT and its partners evaluated 41 potential renewable-energy projects  — some of which were much closer to the Boston area. The Summit Farms PPA had a number of significant advantages: it uses a larger contiguous area than was available in the Northeast, and the local companies handling the design and installation of the solar panels have a proven track record of building and operating similar facilities, minimizing uncertainties about the facility’s cost and output.

In addition, the existing power grid in North Carolina has significantly higher greenhouse-gas emissions: more of that region’s energy comes from coal-fired plants than in New England. This means that more emissions will be displaced for a given amount of solar power than for a similar facility built in the Northeast.

The impact of this partnership and PPA on MIT’s carbon footprint is equivalent to more than half of the total emissions reductions that MIT committed to in its Plan for Action on Climate Change, announced on Oct. 21, 2015 — a 32 percent reduction from 2014 levels, to be achieved by 2030.

For more information, visit the Department of Facilities page.

Read MIT’s announcement of this solar power purchase agreement.

Project Partners

  • Department of Facilities

  • Office of the Treasurer

  • Office of the General Council

  • Office of Sustainability

  • Boston Medical Center

  • Post Office Square Redevelopment Corporation