As part of the Earth Week celebration, Fullerton College held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of a new solar powered ceiling system developed in collaboration with ForeFront Power. ForeFront Power is a leading developer and asset management company for commercial and industrial scale solar and energy storage projects. The 1-megawatt DC solar powered parking roof array is located in the 5th student parking lot adjacent to the neighboring Baker Sports Field, and is expected to save nearly $6 million in energy costs for Fullerton College over the next 20 years.

The purpose of Fullerton College's project is to save on water and electricity costs, reduce carbon footprint, and advance its sustainable development goal of converting campus energy consumption to 100% renewable energy. The solar carport system will generate 1.8 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy, enough to meet the annual electricity needs of over 300 households. These energy outputs will offset approximately 19% of the college's electricity consumption.

Dr. Cynthia Olivo, President of Fullerton College, said, "Fullerton College has been established for over a hundred years and is moving towards the future by implementing clean energy solutions. These solutions will enable us to reliably produce clean energy, reduce harmful emissions, and reinvest the saved energy back into student success. Earth Week is the best time to reaffirm our responsibility to the planet and future generations

This is a pilot solar energy project in the community college district of North Orange County, aimed at demonstrating how solar energy can benefit other campuses in the district. This project is the result of a preliminary solar feasibility study completed in 2021, which helped the college determine the project site and implement the college's 2023-2026 campus sustainable development plan. The plan approves the development of a solar carport project for student plot 5 through a power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with ForeFront Power.

The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed with ForeFront Power enables Fullerton College to develop its projects without upfront costs and bond funds. According to the terms of the power purchase agreement, ForeFront Power is responsible for developing, owning, and maintaining the solar energy portfolio, and charging the college a fixed rate lower than the utility's electricity bill, which remains unchanged for the 20-year term of the agreement. ForeFront Power will continue to operate and maintain the system for free, while the college benefits from budget certainty as utility bills will not increase in the coming decades.

Fullerton College has chosen ForeFront Power to develop, finance, and construct its solar and energy storage portfolio through SPURR's Renewable Energy Centralized Procurement (REAP) program. SPURR is a joint authority composed of hundreds of public education institutions, utilizing competitive bidding, integrating purchasing power and technical expertise to obtain the best prices and terms for public utility related goods and services.