U.S.-based PV manufacturer SunPower has awarded contract to construct two solar carports at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). The two solar carports will make a 4.8MW PV project utilizing SunPower’s Helix™ solution and are expected to offset around 15% of electricity consumption for the campus.

CSULB commits to achieving climate neutral operations by 2030, and the solar carports built by SunPower will support the university to achieve the goal. Moreover, the solar carports will provide to the campus community needed shade and electric vehicle chargers with the capacity to charge 50 cars.

"Cal State Long Beach will benefit from SunPower's extensive experience working with universities and colleges to provide innovative solar solutions and significant value," said Howard Wenger, SunPower president, business units. "With the SunPower Helix platform, our customers don't have to choose between energy, reliability or aesthetics because every component of the system is designed to maximize all three.”

The SunPower Helix platform is a fully-integrated solar solution for commercial projects. It is available for installations as a solar carport, a rooftop PV array, or as a ground-mounted PV plant. A total of 40MW projects have selected the Helix platform for commercial and public installations.

All of the systems are expected to be operational by the end of next year. CSULB will own the renewable energy credits associated with the systems.