SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo is currently constructing a state-of-the-art dining facility called the Vista Grande Dining Complex.

Offering three stories of increased indoor and outdoor seating, six unique dining venues, lounge space and game tables, and a variety of exhibition-style food choices, the dining complex will be ready to serve the campus during the 2019-2020 academic year.

A Jamba Juice, convenience store and Campus Dining’s registered dietitian will be featured prominently on the first floor. All of these amenities will be housed in a modern building that boasts LEED Gold certification for sustainable, resource-efficient design. The six nutrition-focused restaurants will provide fresh, healthy, made-to-order food options for all diets, lifestyles and busy student schedules.

“The new Vista Grande Dining Complex is the most ambitious project we have undertaken in many years,” said Lorlie Leetham, associate vice president of Commercial Services at Cal Poly. “This state-of-the-art facility is a key component of the dining master plan that we launched in 2014 with the overarching goal of transforming the Cal Poly dining experience.”

In 2016 shovels broke ground on the dining complex as Cal Poly Corporation’s master plan for Campus Dining got underway. Cal Poly Corporation is the university’s non-profit arm; the organization provides commercial services, research support, administrative services and funding resources to advance Cal Poly.

The Vista Grande replacement project was conceived to address the needs of a growing residential campus and expand on-trend dining options. It was developed based on research and analysis of the latest culinary concepts and campus community input.

“Designed for diverse food options and expanded gathering spaces, the new Vista Grande will provide an enhanced sense of community and campus spirit,” said Leetham, who also serves as the executive director of the Cal Poly Corporation. “The Cal Poly Corporation is proud to be involved in a project that, at its core, is all about driving student success.”

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The 18.5-acre solar farm will generate more than 11 million kilowatt hours per year, which would be sufficient to power 25 percent of Cal Poly’s energy needs as the campus strives to reach its goal of achieving net-zero energy status by 2050. “This is a huge step toward our goal of climate neutrality, and we are very excited about using this new facility to support students’ hands-on learning,” said Dennis Elliot, the university’s director of energy, utilities and sustainability, in a statement.

The solar farm consists of more than 16,000 individual solar panels and boasts a present capacity of 4.5 megawatts. For a sense of scale, the solar farm could power more than 1,000 single-family homes. To accomplish this, the project employs single-axis tracking technology, which follows the sun across the sky. This results in one-third more energy production than a conventional stationary system. Financing for the solar farm was provided by San Luis Obispo-based REC Solar under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Duke Energy Renewables of Charlotte, N.C. The arrangement provides the ability to purchase energy at a lower rate and precludes upfront costs for the system’s construction and maintenance. Beyond the environmental benefits of the project, the energy savings accrued over the next 20 years will amount to an estimated $10 million.

“We applaud Cal Poly’s creativity in leveraging the system to inspire research in sustainability for years to come. REC Solar is privileged to be a part of the university’s sustainability journey,” said REC Solar CEO Matt Walz, in a statement.

Incidentally, REC Solar was founded by Cal Poly graduates and is owned by Duke Energy. The company proffers solar solutions for the university and school district markets. To date, the company has seen completion of more than 100 school solar projects. Meanwhile, REC Solar concentrates on developing solar curricula and other means of academic enrichment for school clients. To wit, the solar farm will also function as a working learning lab for students.

Spurring Cal Poly’s climate activities is, in part, the Golden State’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The act set groundbreaking goals to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The 23-campus California State University system, including Cal Poly, set its own 2014 Sustainability Policy with an eye to exceed the state mandate and seek to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2040 — a decade in advance of the state goal. In addition to the solar farm, Cal Poly is pursuing its via energy-efficient, LEED-certified campus buildings of which the university currently has seven.

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