POTSDAM -- A solar array that Clarkson University says will generate close to 10 percent of the school’s electricity needs could be turned on as early as November.

Clarkson is partnering with Community Energy Solar, which designed and is building a 2 megawatt-AC solar array on the school's U.S. Route 11 property adjacent to the Potsdam airport, Damon Field.

Community Energy will own and operate the photovoltaic (PV) array. Clarkson will be the sole beneficiary of the power, which it will buy from Community Energy at approximately the same price it is buying power for right now, the school said.

Support for this project came from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's NY-Sun initiative, which is administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). NY-Sun is a $1 billion initiative to advance the scale-up of solar and move the state closer to having a sustainable, self-sufficient solar industry.

"We are doing this to be green, because we are committed to sustainability, and to showcase this state-of-the-art technology," said Clarkson chief financial officer James D. Fish. "Our students will benefit greatly from this project, as the array will serve as a living laboratory, where they can study real-world solar energy generation."

The 7,704 modules of the array will generate approximately 2.8 million kilowatt hours per year, equivalent to enough to provide the annual electric needs of 300 homes.

This is the equivalent of the power produced by burning 2,000 tons coal or 4,500 barrels of oil. The project will save 2,100 tons carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere annually, Clarkson said.