College in California Becomes First to Produce More Energy Than it Uses

Institutes of higher learning are designed to energize and empower communities to reach a brighter future -- but one school in California is taking that mission literally. For the very first time, a college in the United States has managed to not only go off the grid by producing their own clean electricity, but to produce enough of the stuff to power hundreds of homes as well. And the best part of all, with the money they'll save, educators can focus less on dollars and cents and more on teaching.

This week, Butte College in Northern California makes history by becoming the first college to become 'grid positive' thanks to its sustainable energy infrastructure of solar arrays. The college boasts some 25,000 solar panels that can generate over 6.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. All told, the clean energy produced at Butte is equivalent to taking 615 cars off the road, and is enough to power over 900 homes.