Reference no: EM133084126

The university made its latest commitment to being a sustainability leader in Hong Kong by launching a renewable energy project that will include the installation of up to 8,000 solar panels at over 50 locations on campus. A solar panel typically has a power rate at 300 Watts. It will be Hong Kong's largest solar energy generation project when complete. The system will generate up to 3 million units (kWh) of electricity each year, and reduce 1.5 million kg of carbon emission per annum over a 25-year period. In the 2018-19 academic year, HKUST consumed nearly 90 million kWh of electricity. By joining CLP's Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Scheme, the project will generate around $160 million from 2021 up to the end of the FiT Scheme in 2033. After paying off the costs of the installation, HKUST will receive an average of $4 million per year that will be reinvested in further campus energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction projects.

Please provide your quantitative or qualitative assessment on significances of economic cost, environmental and social benefits of this solar project to our university.