Colorado Mountain College Installs Solar Array & Battery Storage Facility
The new 4.5-megawatt solar array is grid-tied and includes five megawatts of battery storage. The power company that operates the grid will retire renewable energy credits on the college’s behalf, in a quantity sufficient to offset 100 percent of the electricity use of three CMC campuses at Aspen, Spring Valley and Vail Valley.
San Francisco State U Prioritizes Climate & Racial Justice Investment Goals
The university foundation's new commitments include making measurable progress in growing the percentage of its portfolio managed by companies owned or led by people of color and women within five years, net-zero carbon emissions for its endowment by 2040, and divestiture of fossil fuel companies by 2025.
Princeton U Dissociates from 90 Fossil Fuel Companies
The board of trustees of the university voted in September to dissociate from 90 companies pursuant to a fossil fuel dissociation decision made last year that focused on the most-polluting segments of the industry and on concerns about corporate disinformation campaigns. It will also eliminate all holdings in publicly traded fossil fuel companies.
U Central Lancashire Divests From Fossil Fuels
The university's recent announced its decision to divest its funds in the fossil fuel industry in line with its commitment to sustainable and ethical investments. This includes all companies in the oil, gas and consumable fuels industry; energy equipment and services industry; and diversified metals and mining industry.
U Southern California to Obtain Solar Electricity for 25% of Consumption
The new 20-year agreement will provide a quarter of the university's electricity with power from a solar farm in Mojave. In addition to lowering its carbon footprint, the university will contribute approximately $180,000 per year to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Clean Energy Adder program that supports disadvantaged communities in and around USC’s campuses.
U Washington to Divest From Fossil Fuels
The university's board of regents in early September approved a resolution to begin exiting all direct investments in fossil fuel companies with the goal of complete divestiture by fiscal year 2027. The resolution includes a commitment not to renew indirect investments in funds primarily focusing on fossil-fuel extraction or reserves. The resolution also includes a goal of investing at least 2.5 percent of the UW’s entire Consolidated Endowment Fund in climate-solutions companies or asset managers and a commitment to achieving net-zero emissions in the university’s endowment fund by fiscal year 2050.
2022 AASHE Sustainable Campus Index Lists Top Performers
The Sustainable Campus Index (SCI) recognizes top-performing colleges and universities in 17 sustainability impact areas, and overall by institution type, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). This year’s SCI introduces an international top performers list that recognizes the highest scoring institution in every participating country with at least one STARS-rated institution.
Brandeis U Launches Year of Climate Action
Organized by the Brandeis Sustainability Committee, the Year of Climate Action aims to raise awareness for climate change as a social justice issue. Planned activities and initiatives throughout the year focus on institutional priorities, such as introducing new organic land management practices and a decarbonization study, and curricular programming, including sustainability course development funding and curated teaching resources. Other features of the year include a theater, a climate organizer-in-residence, local environmental justice events, an eco-anxiety support group, and club funding for student-designed programs.
U Arkansas Signs PPA on 5.1 MW Photovoltaic Array
The newly signed power purchase agreement (PPA) is for a 5.1-megawatt photovoltaic system that is expected to cover approximately 6.3 percent of the campus electrical energy needs. The solar project will be installed on 25 acres off campus and is expected to be completed by Q1 2024.
White House Mandates Open Access to Government-Funded Research
Any research based on federally funded studies must be made freely available to the public without an embargo under a policy announced Thursday by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The new requirement, which is due to take effect by the end of 2025, updates an existing policy that allowed a 12-month embargo for making research freely available.
