Johns Hopkins University makes the largest solar power commitment in Maryland

Johns Hopkins University has entered into a long-term agreement to supply its campuses with more than 250,000 megawatt-hours of solar power per year.

The 15-year agreement with the Baltimore-based energy company Constellation, a subsidiary of Exelon, commences in 2021 and will allow Johns Hopkins to meet roughly two-thirds of the university’s overall electricity needs with solar power.

The agreement will help Johns Hopkins make a significant step toward its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 51 percent by 2025.

“When we pledged to more than halve our carbon emissions by 2025, we knew it would require rethinking how we power and operate our university,” Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels said. “This agreement demonstrates the seriousness of our commitment to sustainability for the good of our university and our planet.”

Through the agreement, Constellation will buy energy and renewable energy certificates, or RECs, from a new 175-megawatt solar plant being developed in Virginia and will sell the power and project-specific RECs to Johns Hopkins.

In all, the plan is expected to help Johns Hopkins reduce carbon emissions by 123,000 metric tons in the first year, the equivalent of taking 26,115 cars off the road or planting more than 2.3 million trees, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.