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Photo: Gregory Urquiaga/���˽�������̳���� Davis

A 62-acre plot on the south end of campus is now generating 14 percent of ���˽�������̳���� Davis’ electricity.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi on Nov. 20 dedicated the new 16.3-megawatt SunPower solar power plant, which will reduce the university’s carbon footprint by 9 percent.

“In the fight against climate change, this is another progressive step forward for a ���˽�������̳���� Davis campus that is already a global leader in sustainability,” Katehi said.

SunPower owns and operates the plant, and sells the electricity to ���˽�������̳���� Davis.

Bob Redlinger, SunPower commercial director, pointed out some of the features that make the solar plant more efficient: The panels slowly tilt throughout the day to face directly at the sun, and they are cleaned by robots.

Those robots are “local,” by the way, developed by Greenbotics, a Davis-based company that SunPower acquired in 2013. Each robot sprays a carefully measured amount of water on each panel, scrubbing it and squeegeeing it. The robotic cleaning is 75 percent more water efficient than using a hose and a brush.

The bottom line: Clean panels can perform up to 15 percent better in collecting the sun’s energy.