U Albany Announces $30M Decarbonization Project
The project will replace two gas-fired absorption chillers in the university's central power plant with a high-efficiency electric centrifugal chiller and a heat recovery chiller connected to a new geothermal well field.
SUNY Old Westbury Receives $200M for Energy Efficiency
The New York State governor announced recently a $200 million investment for Old Westbury's Natural Sciences Building. The deep energy retrofit is expected to make the building 50 percent more energy efficient and will include a geothermal system for heating and cooling, modernized teaching laboratories, a new campus greenhouse, a green roof, and collaboration spaces for teaching and co-curricular activities.
Second Nature Announces Climate Luminary Honors Recipients
Six colleges and universities were recently recognized as Climate Luminary Honors by Second Nature for their leadership and innovative approaches to addressing climate challenges across five categories—decarbonization, justice, community, workforce, and research—alongside a special award for Climate Resiliency in Action.
Northeastern U Launches Climate Justice Action Plan
The newly published Climate Justice Action Plan is organized around four intersectional themes –campus operations, economic impact, relationships with neighbors, and research and academics–and includes specific goals, associated strategies and actions.
Oberlin College Connects Geothermal System
Oberlin has completed its Sustainable Infrastructure Program, a four-year program to convert the campus to geothermal heating and cooling. The project, which included upgrading its century-old heating infrastructure to a hot water system, is expected to reduce Oberlin’s water use by more than five million gallons per year, reduce sewer discharge by more than four million gallons per year, and improve campus energy efficiency by more than 30 percent.
MIT, Harvard U & Tufts U Join Consortium to Purchase Renewable Energy
Eleven Massachusetts organizations comprising the Consortium for Climate Solutions, which includes MIT and Harvard and Tufts Universities, have signed a power purchase agreement to buy electricity from two large-scale renewable energy projects (wind and photovoltaic) totaling 408 megawatts.
Niagara U Connects 4 MW On-Campus Solar Array
The university recently completed a 17-acre, four-megawatt project, featuring 7,500 bifacial solar panels with sun tracking that follows the sun throughout the day to maximize energy production. Coupled with the university’s hydropower supply, the solar project allows the university’s electric consumption to become 100 percent carbon neutral.
Duke U Reaches Carbon Neutrality
Having reduced its greenhouse gas emissions 31 percent since 2007, the university reached carbon neutrality through a combination of energy savings, investments in renewable energy and retiring 232,000 offset credits amassed from multiple projects.
Johns Hopkins Publishes Climate Action & Sustainability Plan
The newly minted Climate Action and Sustainability Plan, developed over the past two years with input from thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni and Baltimore residents, commits to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040; purchasing all electricity from renewable sources by 2030; deploying a fully electric vehicle fleet by 2026; ensuring that all light-duty and passenger vehicles purchased by the university are all-electric by 2030; increasing the diversion of all waste to 50 percent; and expanding the impact of research and teaching to develop global solutions and train future leaders.
Thompson Rivers U to Begin Low-Carbon District Energy Installation
The university recently broke ground on a low-carbon district energy system that is projected to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 95 percent. Replacing the university’s natural gas boilers, the high-efficiency electrified district heating system will feature air-source and water-source heat pumps, along with backup and peaking boilers.
Bentley U to Purchase 100% Wind Power
The university recently signed a four-year agreement to purchase electricity from a wind farm in Maine. The purchase is anticipated to supply 100 percent of the electricity needs of the university through 2027. The wind site will be incorporated into an intensive field course on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Sonoma State U to Complete Solar Array & Battery Bank
Projected to help the university save $6 million over 30 years, the 4.5-megawatt solar array and 1.5-megawatt battery bank installation is expected to meet one-third of the university’s annual electricity consumption when it becomes active in spring 2025.
U Virginia Begins Decarbonization Academy
Over the course of the eight-week, immersive learning experience program, students from various disciplines work with faculty and staff to advance the university's 2030 carbon-neutral and 2050 fossil-free goals. Students spend 40 hours per week on projects and receive a $5,000 stipend.
