University of Maryland plans solar installation

From The Baltimore Sun: The University of Maryland is installing more than 2,600 photovoltaic panels on one of its buildings near the College Park campus. The 631-kilowatt system is to be placed on the roof of the Severn building, a multi-purpose structure less than a mile from the campus. The university has agreed to buy the electricity generated by the solar panels - about 792 megawatt-hours annually - under a 20-year contract. The installation is expected to reduce the campus carbon footprint by more than 600 tons a year, university officials estimate, or about as many greenhouse gas emissions as you'd get from burning 64,000 gallons of gasoline annually.