St. Olaf College Acquire Solar Power for Carbon Neutrality
The college recently announced plans to lease 90 acres of land for the development of 15 one-megawatt solar electric arrays. The college will acquire 40 percent of the project's output. This along with 10 percent from another project enables the college to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electrical power.
North Central College Invests in LED Lighting
A $200,000 investment allowed the university to recently complete the light-emitting diode (LED) retrofit in three buildings, avoiding $35,000 annually in electricity costs. The new lighting includes occupancy sensors and dimming features.
Cornell U Installs LED Lights in Athletic Centers
(U.S.): Contributing to the school's climate sustaining efforts, the Department of Athletics and Physical Education have begun installing light-emitting diode (LED) lightbulbs in all campus athletic facilities. The project is estimated to save more than 1.7 million-kilowatt hours of electricity and preventing about 450 tons of carbon dioxide annually, avoiding nearly $136,000 in utility bills.
Five Universities Participate in 'Solarize U' Program
(U.S.): Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University, University of New Haven, University of Connecticut, Wesleyan University and Yale University are now participating in the State of Connecticut program to offer faculty, staff and students' families the opportunity to compare online competitive bids from pre-screened installers of solar energy systems.
U Asia and the Pacific Installs 300KW Solar System
(Philippines): Helping to reduce energy costs and its carbon footprint, the university's new 300-kilowatt photovoltaic system is supplying electricity to its parking and sports building, and feeding electricity onto the electrical grid.
U Iowa Begins Growing Energy With Biofuels
(U.S.): With the goal of achieving 40 percent renewable energy consumption by 2020, the university will soon be growing a variety of grass that will be harvested and used to supply power, steam and chilled water to the main campus as part of its Biomass Fuel Project, designed to reduce the use of fossil fuels by substituting locally available renewable materials in the main power plant.
Rice U Signs Agreement to Purchase Solar Electricity for One Year
In an effort to better manage energy consumption and spending, a recent one-year agreement with a power company was enacted that allows the university to purchase approximately seven percent of the university's purchased electricity from clean energy at the same rate as fossil fuel-powered electricity.
San Francisco State U Completes Lighting Upgrade
A project spearheaded by students in a management class led to the removal of unnecessary lamps on the second floor of the university's business building over winter break. Electricity consumption of hallway lighting on this floor has decreased 40 percent as a result.
Cornell U Conserves Energy With New Chiller
The new air conditioning system air-cooled chiller is fully automated for seasonal and daily on/off and will use less electricity to provide cooling, saving the university $6,000 and diverting 23 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Texas A&M to Install Thermal Storage Tank
A soon-to-be-completed 3-million gallon tank for chilled water to air condition and dehumidify buildings is projected to save the university around $600,000 per year by creating the chilled water at night when electricity rates are lowest. Due to the new chiller's capacity, it will allow the university to shut down other chillers that charge during the day.
Utah State U Connects Photovoltaic System
Reducing utility costs and increasing visibility for renewable energy, the newly installed 264-panel system will offset energy consumption used by the university's equine research center.
U Illinois Urbana-Champaign to Install 5.87MW Solar Farm
(U.S.): Contributing to the university's goal of carbon neutrality, construction of an on-campus 5.87-megawatt solar farm will begin in spring 2015 after university and state officials recently approved power purchase and land lease agreements.
U Richmond Reaches Agreement to Install Solar Energy
(U.S.): With construction slated to begin in July 2015, the 204-kilowatt solar electric array will help the university meet its 30 percent by 2020 carbon reduction goal. Under the arrangement, a solar energy developer in Virginia will install, maintain and own the solar array and its associated tax benefits and will sell the electricity generated by the array to the university at a set rate over a 20-year period.
EPA Honors Raritan Valley CC
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency commended the community college, an EPA Green Power Partner, for using enough wind power to meet 100 percent of the main campus' electricity needs.
Northern Arizona U Installs Residential Wind Turbine
Funded through the university's Green Fund and the department of Finance and Administration, the 2.4-kilowatt wind turbine was installed on campus and originated from students working on the Arizona Wind for Schools initiative, a project of the U.S. Department of Energy's WindExchange program.
Santa Fe CC Completes 156KW Solar Electric Array
The new 156-kilowatt photovoltaic installation combines a solar parking structure with rooftop arrays that will produce approximately 70 percent of the energy to power the building and is estimated to save the college more than $200,000 annually.
U California to Begin Supplying Electricity to Campuses
The university will switch from a third-party electricity supplier to provide electric power directly to five of its campuses and three of its medical centers, along with other electric accounts throughout the university as part of its initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.
Cornell U to Purchase Wind Farm Electricity
Making strides in carbon emissions reduction, the university recently agreed to purchase all electricity generated from a proposed community-owned wind farm consisting of seven 1.7-megawatt wind turbines. The purchase will represent 20 percent of the university's total annual electricity use. The university's Climate Action Plan calls for net zero emissions by 2035.
U Virginia Upgrades Lighting in Residence Halls
While Hereford Residential College students were away for winter break, the university re-lamped about 500 fluorescent fixtures that should realize a savings of approximately $4,000 annually.
Government College of Technology Connects 20KW Photovoltaic Array
(India): The recently commissioned 20-kilowatt solar electric system was installed as part of the college's Center of Excellence in Alternate Energy Research. The center and its students will be adopting a nearby village and installing solar-based street lights and table lamps.
King's College Adopts Solar Energy
(U.S.): Donated by Panzitta Enterprises, Inc, the addition of 214 photovoltaic panels will reduce the college's carbon footprint and direct more money toward education by reducing the college's utility payments.
Paul Smith's College to Install Wood Pellet Boiler System
(U.S.): Contributing to the college's renewable energy and climate change goals, displacing 28,000 gallons per year of heating oil, the high-efficiency and low-emission wood pellet boiler heating system will supply heat to multiple buildings and use thermal storage to increase efficiency of the system.
Pennsylvania State U Captures Hydroelectric Energy
(U.S.): The low-impact plant, built using existing infrastructure, now supplies the university with eight percent of its energy by harnessing the available energy from the Mahoning Creek Dam and includes new educational opportunities for students through the university's hydro class.
Wesleyan U Adopts New Energy Conservation Policy
The newly established policy aims to minimize the university’s energy consumption, and direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions while defining standards for reasonably comfortable indoor environments within each building.
EPA Recognizes Oklahoma State U for Clean Power
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Leadership Award honored the university for leadership, overall strategy and impact on the green power market. The university's Stillwater campus uses wind energy, behavior-based energy conservation programs, geothermal technology, and its bus fleet runs on natural gas.
Southwestern College Installs 3.2MW Photovoltaic Array
Offsetting the cost of energy, the newly installed, $13 million 3.2-megawatt solar electric system was funded by a bond passed by voters in 2008 and is projected to offset 2,600 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Rice U to Add Solar Power System
(U.S.): The rooftop photovoltaic installation is part of the university's effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent over the next ten years and achieve climate neutrality by 2038 as specified in its Integrated Climate and Energy Master Plan.
U Southern California Student Petitions for Solar Energy
(U.S.): The university's Environmental Affairs Organization is aiming to bring solar panels to campus through their new initiative called the Go Solar Campaign. The organization, which cites other schools' solar success with smaller budgets, is drawing up a proposal for the administration that seeks to mitigate the financial burdens of solar power, such as a donor-based system or third-party power purchasing agreements.
Clarkson U to Complete a 2MW Solar Install
In an effort to stabilize the rising cost of electricity, the university will purchase electricity back from the 2-megawatt system currently under construction consuming 12-acres of land. The project is projected to avoid 2,100 tons carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere annually.
Elizabethtown College Awarded $500K for 2MW Solar System
The college was recently awarded a $500,000 Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) grant to install a 2-megawatt ground-mounted solar photovoltaic system and create opportunities for students and faculty members to study various aspects of solar energy.
Huston-Tillotson U Charges with Solar
The new solar charging station was retrofitted from a 1950s gas pump with solar panels for the campus community to use clean energy to recharge portable electronic devices.
U California Irvine to Add 3.2MW of Solar
Currently under construction, the 3.2-megawatt solar electric system atop three parking structures is part of a 25-year power purchase agreement allowing the university to pay a price below what would normally be paid to a utility. The project is expected to reduce campus carbon emissions by 1,500 metric tons per year.
Dickinson College Student Creates Solar Structure
Found in a warehouse with surplus desks and chairs by an environmental studies and economics double major, the four solar panels were constructed into a functioning solar array at one of the busiest thoroughfares on campus. Known as the Solar Outdoor Laboratory, the system, now an extension of the college's living laboratory, channels the electricity onto the grid.
U California Santa Barbara Connects 424kW Photovoltaic Array
Funded by students, who voted for the $3.4 million Student Affairs Renewable Energy Initiative to pass in 2011, the newly installed 424-kilowatt, solar electric system will help the university reach the University of California system-wide Carbon Neutrality Initiative, which seeks carbon neutrality by 2025.
U Nebraska-Lincoln Claims Wastewater Heat for Energy
Called the Centralized Renewable Energy System, the university is engaged with the city's adjacent wastewater treatment plant to convert heat from the discharge into usable energy for heating and cooling buildings.
West Chester U Pennsylvania Retires Coal Boiler Plant
The recently decommissioned coal-fired boiler plant was replaced by an efficient geothermal system for providing heat for half of campus that includes 440 wells. Currently the other half of the campus is heated and cooled by high-efficiency natural gas boilers.
Wesleyan U Expands Energy Saving Competition
The now campus-wide energy reduction competition encourages all residents to reduce their energy consumption and track it via JouleBug, a smartphone app. Two awards based on the app's data will be given to the resident with the highest energy reduction.
Colorado Mountain College Installs 30KW Solar System
(U.S.): A university partnership with Garfield County Libraries yielding two other solar installations has led to the library's largest photovoltaic installation to date, 29.9-kilowatts, and was installed by five university students and their professor studying photovoltaics.
George Washington U to Install Solar Thermal System
(U.S.): In step with the university's plan to reduce its carbon emissions 40 percent by 2025, the solar thermal system, to be completed on an upperclassmen residence hall in 2015, will save the university money by preheating water with the sun instead of using gas.
Skidmore College Celebrates Completion of Solar Array
(U.S.): Aiding in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the new photovoltaic system, with $2.3 million from the NY-Sun Initiative, is predicted to generate approximately 12 percent of the college's electricity needs.
Truckee Meadows CC & Colorado School of Mines Win Challenge
(U.S.): The Energy Department's National Geothermal Student Competition announced Truckee Meadows Community College as top finisher and the Geothermal Case Study Challenge winner went to Colorado School of Mines. The two competitions challenged college and university students to develop professional business solutions for public outreach as well as case studies that could help industry more accurately pinpoint geothermal resources in subsurface areas across the United States.
U Colorado Boulder Retrofits for Energy Savings
(U.S.): A nearly $11 million project, with an anticipated $573,000 in energy cost avoidance, will upgrade one of the campus' buildings with energy-efficient boilers, lighting and HVAC systems, and water conservation improvements.
U Michigan Reduces Energy Through Lab Sash Program
(U.S.): With nearly 800 campus labs, the new Shut the Sash awareness campaign, an initiative of the Sustainable Labs program, resulted in an estimated 10 percent energy reduction and avoidance of $1.5 million in energy costs.
