U Wolverhampton Intiaties Decarbonization Project
The university's new $14.7 million ($11 million British pounds) decarbonization effort includes replacing gas-fired equipment and end of life boilers with an air-to-water heat pump system, recovering chilled water, and installing photovoltaics and a network of district heating pipes that will supply low carbon heat. A living lab will also be established, allowing academics and students to study the impacts of the heat pump technology, solar and energy conservation measures.
Colorado State U to Connect 5.75 MW Photovoltaic Project
The university recently entered a 20-year agreement on a ground-mounted 5.75 megawatt photovoltaic project. The university will receive the renewable electricity and RECs generated by the virtual net-metering solar project. The project is expected to come online in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Charles Sturt U Signs Contract for 100% Renewable Energy
(Australia) By signing a three-year contract, the university now supplies 100 percent renewable electricity to the university’s six main campuses across New South Wales. The estimated annual usage under the contract is 20-gigawatt hours.
Framingham State U Connects 720KW Solar Canopy
A public-private partnership enabled the university to construct the 720-kilowatt solar canopy over a parking lot. The university partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the PowerOptions Consortium to have solar panels installed on campus at no cost to Framingham State State. The power purchase agreement is for 20-25 years at a fixed discounted price over the term.
MIT Partners on Energy & Climate Alliance
The recently announced alliance is a five-year collaboration between MIT and GE Vernova that will operate within MIT’s Office of Innovation and Strategy. Comprising a $50 million commitment, the endeavor will encompass research, education and career opportunities focused on three main themes: decarbonization, electrification and renewables acceleration.
Oberlin College Achieves Carbon Neutrality
The college is now carbon neutral through a variety of approaches, including a net-zero commercial building, over 3 megawatts of clean energy, energy efficiency measures, and a ground-source heating and cooling system.
McMaster U Receives $1.4M for Decarbonization Projects
One project will recover excess heat from the university's research nuclear reactor for heating a science building, while the other project will replace natural gas heating with air-to-water pumps. Both projects are expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
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.
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.
Harvard U Expands Green Revolving Fund from $12 to $37M
The new $37 million green revolving fund (GRF) priorities are to 1) accelerate additional energy efficiency, especially heat/energy recovery and load reduction, in all buildings; 2) replace fossil fuel equipment with electric technology at end-of-life, whenever possible; and 3) when renovating space or changing HVAC systems or equipment, design the equipment to use low-temperature hot water for future flexibility. The GRF allows schools and units at Harvard to apply for a zero-interest loan and pay back the principal over up to 10 years.
