Colorado State U Commits to 100% Renewable Energy
The university president recently signed a pledge committing the university to be powered from 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030, after more than 4,300 students, faculty and staff had signed a petition encouraging the university to consider the pledge. The university says that the decision to invest in renewable energy is due to the projected increase in energy prices over the next 20 years.
SUNY New Paltz Awards $1.4M Toward Energy Projects
The university's energy management coordinator organized awards totaling more than $1.4 million for four energy projects: a solar energy storage system, thermal blankets to wrap heating piping in the mechanical rooms of buildings across campus to conserve energy and reduce heat loss, LED lighting upgrades and implement a summer demand response program.
Two U Rhode Island Buildings Achieve LEED Gold
Hillside Hall includes photovoltaic panels for electricity, green roofing, radiant heat, recycled building materials and no-touch water fountains. The renovation to the Fitness and Wellness Center includes the use of bamboo flooring and hydration stations.
Royal Roads U Allocates $21.5M Toward Environmental & Cultural Center
With $21.5 million from private and public funding, the new Center for Environmental Science and International Partnership will be founded. As part of the project, a now century-old building will receive energy efficiency upgrades while a new building featuring an environmental science teaching lab and teaching spaces for on-campus undergraduate programs will be constructed. The new center will include a student commons to promote international and intercultural understanding.
U South Carolina Business School Building Achieves LEED Platinum
The new building includes an outdoor terrace and roof garden space, storm water capture for reuse and irrigation, drinking fountains with bottle filling ability, and a hybrid HVAC system that uses under-floor air, active chilled beams and variable air volume systems, all designed to reduce the amount of power needed to move air for heating and cooling.
Montana State Residential Building Scores LEED Gold
The new freshmen dormitory features solar pre-heated water for domestic uses, low-flow faucets and shower heads, covered bicycle storage facilities and the use of beetle-kill pine wood boards throughout the building.
Johns Hopkins U Building Gets LEED Platinum
The Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories was designed to use 40 percent less energy than similar lab buildings. Its designs include highly efficient heating and cooling systems, occupancy sensors that control lights and HVAC, low-flow water fixtures and lab technologies designed to conserve energy and water.
CFP Championship Game Makes Strides to Reduce Impact
Playoff Green Project was an initiative to make the January 2017 College Football Playoff Championship game, held in Tampa, Florida, more sustainable by seeking to reduce food waste through donations, reduce solid waste by recycling and purchase renewable energy certificates.
U Albany Renovation Receives LEED Gold
Mohawk Tower, a 24-story residential high rise originally built in 1972, was recently renovated to include upgraded windows and awnings, energy-efficient lighting, dual-flush toilets and metered faucets, and the use of Forest Stewardship Council certified wood and low-volatile organic compound construction materials, such as adhesives and paints.
Emory U Installs 1MW Cogeneration System
In October 2016, the university installed a one-megawatt combined heat-and-power (CHP) generator that will retrieve otherwise wasted heat, allowing the system to use the same amount of natural gas fuel input but produce more electricity. Emory's goal is to produce 10 percent of energy on campus by 2025.
Black Hills State U to Install Four Solar Energy Arrays
In an effort to normalize what it pays for electricity and to further its environmental efforts, the university is moving forward with four photovoltaic arrays that are projected to provide approximately 17 percent of its annual electricity consumption. The university currently pays 3 cents per kilowatt-hour to Western Area Power Administration. Six months out of the year, BHSU exceeds its allocation from WAPA and then buys power from Black Hills Energy at a rate of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. The solar power will replace the power bought from Black Hills Energy.
National Institute Solar Energy Launches Realtime Monitoring
(India) The National Institute of Solar Energy recently completed the installation of a monitoring system that will help keep track of energy consumption as well as efficiency of power generating units. The school meets all its energy requirements through solar power and produces surplus that it can send back to the grid.
Northern Arizona U Building Earns LEED Gold
The university's Aquatic and Tennis Complex features recycled material use, such as steel, carpet and acoustical tiles, the use of native and climate-adapted plants, high-efficiency lamp sources and daylighting, and water-efficient fixtures and water bottle/drinking fountain stations.
U Virginia Leases Rooftop for 364KW Solar Array
In a lease agreement with Dominion Virginia Power, the university now has two photovoltaic array systems totaling 364-kilowatts. While the electricity is grid-tied, the university will be able to use the system for student and faculty research, and to raise awareness about renewable energy.
California State U, Northridge Breaks Ground on Sustainability Center
Construction began in September on a new Associated Students Sustainability Center, a multi-functional space serving as an expanded collections station for campus recyclables, the administrative hub of the Associated Students' sustainability programs and services and the administrative offices of the Institute for Sustainability. The building will include photovoltaic and solar hot water panels, a gray-water collection system and composting toilets.
Simon Fraser U to Construct Green Building to House Sustainable Programs
The expansion of the university's Surrey campus will include a 161,000-square-foot building to house the proposed Energy Systems and Environmental Engineering Program, an interdisciplinary engineering stream that will support the clean tech and sustainable energy sector. The building's design, targeted for LEED Gold, will include electric vehicle charging stations and shared heat from the city's district energy system.
Energy Dept. Names Finalists in Student Design Competition
The U.S. Department of Energy Race to Zero Student Design Competition recently released the 50 teams competing in the next competition, which represent 44 collegiate institutions from four countries. The Race to Zero is an annual competition designed to advance and enhance building science curriculum in universities. Student teams are asked to design high-performance homes that are so energy-efficient that renewable power can offset most or all the annual energy consumption.
Architectural Record Covers Campus Sustainable Development
In the November 2016 issue, Architectural Record centered around design and development of the built environment on campuses across the U.S, with a spotlight on three schools. The issue highlighted Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus, a full-cycle water reclamation, net-positive energy production and zero-waste operations campus, Hampshire College's R.W. Kern Center, a building constructed to meet the Living Building Challenge guidelines, and Cornell University’s 352-unit, 26-story tower high-rise designed to Passive House standards (set to open 2017).
Energy Department Recognizes U California, Berkeley Energy Efficiency
The U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Challenge program recognized the university for its Energy Management Initiative, an approach to linking energy costs to building occupants in its Jacobs Hall facility, an interdisciplinary learning hub. After just five months in operation, the building expects energy savings of 65 percent, or $41,000 dollars. Through the Better Buildings Challenge, the Department of Energy aims to achieve the goal of doubling American energy productivity by 2030 while motivating leaders across the country to save energy through commitments and investments.
Cleveland State U Partners to Conduct Energy Audits in Community
The university partnered with the State of Ohio to conduct free energy audits of area buildings that help identify simple fixes and low-cost recommendations that could conserve energy and reduce operating costs. The initiative was made possible through a grant that the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering received through the Ohio Lean Building Program, which is managed by the University of Dayton.
Ohio Northern U Begins Construction on 2MW Solar Array
Projected to meet approximately 10 percent of the university electricity demand, the two-megawatt photovoltaic system is expected to be complete in 2016. Under a 25-year power purchase agreement, the university will purchase electricity directly from the array without needing to invest capital in construction and maintenance.
U Iowa Residence Hall Receives LEED Gold
The newly constructed building uses water-efficient landscaping and plumbing fixtures, was built to allow 75 percent of spaces to have an outdoor view, contains 22 percent local materials and recycled 51 percent of construction waste.
Harvard U Partners on Building Materials Tool
The university is the first founding partner from the higher education community to sign on to Portico, a web-based application designed to simplify the analysis, selection and specification of building products that meet health and transparency objectives. Harvard’s Office for Sustainability and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Center for Health and the Global Environment will partner with Healthy Building Network and Google to foster opportunities for faculty and students to use the data available to generate new research and support existing initiatives on healthy buildings that are already underway at the university.
Keene State College Heats with Waste Vegetable Oil
In a Campus Sustainability Month announcement, Keene stated it is using 100 percent purified waste vegetable oil to heat approximately 36 percent of campus. During August 2016, the college met the demand for heat and hot water using this fuel, which is helping the college reduce carbon emissions.
Ohio U Building Earns LEED Gold Certification
The new building minimizes consumption of water and energy, project materials contained recycled content, almost 50 percent of materials were manufactured in the region, and the project diverted more than 75 percent of construction waste from entering a landfill.
Otto Beisheim School Mgt Opens Building with Sustainable Energy System
(Germany) The new building features a climate control system that includes two wells for groundwater that is used to cool the building. This is coupled with a software-controlled ventilation system that allows the air inside the building to mix with outside air to result in an even distribution of temperature without temperature stratification.
Michigan State U Students Test Solar Hot Water on Campus
Located in a cold-weather climate with an average of 174 sunny days per year, students, in collaboration with the Sustainability Office, are involved in testing the efficacy of flat plate collectors versus evacuated tubes to determine the best renewable energy solution for campus' hot water.
U Calgary Building Achieves LEED Gold
The university's High Density Library features rainwater and snowmelt capture from the roof and landscaped areas in a stormwater pond that's used then treated through a constructed wetland, high-efficiency lighting and mechanical systems, a light-colored roof membrane to reduce heat absorption and for most staff, a direct line of sight to windows to contribute to a healthy workplace.
Ohio U Building Earns LEED Silver
The building features a focus on water use reduction, the optimization of the building’s energy performance and indoor environmental quality.
Iona College Completes Green Roof Installation
The result of approximately two years of planning resulted in planters set up on the college's student union roof filled with varietals of Sedums, which are plants well suited to rooftop gardens. The planters are supposed to absorb heat and ease the thermal load of the building.
U Washington to Install Three Solar System Test Projects
Three residence halls will be the recipients of photovoltaic arrays to support research on how solar energy can be combined with other demand-side resources, resources such as battery systems. Seattle City Light's Green Up program is contributing $225,000, which enabled the university to compete for the Washington State Department of Commerce Solar Grant Program that is providing $225,000 in matching funds.
U Utah Building Achieves LEED Platinum
The one-year old building features a 65 percent reduction in energy costs through structural design and passive solar orientation, solar power generation, natural light, recycling and re-using grey water to flush toilets, and a focus on energy efficiency.
Butler U Building Supports LEED Gold
A $34 million renovation of the university's Hinkle Fieldhouse includes new roof with a white cap sheet that reflects sunlight, bicycle storage and changing rooms, low-flow water fixtures and a two-year contract to purchase at least 35 percent of the building’s electricity from renewable sources.
U California Purchases Electricity from 60MW Solar Installation
A key step in reaching the university system's goal of carbon neutrality by 2025, electricity produced by a recently completed, 60-megawatt (MW) solar farm will be purchased by the university, with nearly one-quarter going to UC Davis. The 60MW represents approximately 14 percent of the system's total usage and the university notes that an additional 20MW solar installation is set to come online by mid-2017.
Inside HigherEd Covers Tiny Living Spaces for Students
The recent article looks at the College of Wooster and the College of Charleston, which have designed student housing that embraces the concept of tiny living, offering relatively few square-feet per student, while at the same time offering large community spaces to bring students together.
Hope College Adds 330 LED Lights to Fieldhouse
Replacing 540 compact fluorescent fixtures with 330 LED ones and dimmers was $200,000 and has been estimated to cut the college's power use by 80-kilowatts per month. The college will receive $16,000 in energy-efficiency rebates.
Indiana U-Owned Hotel Diverts 6K Pounds of Soap
After seeing a presentation on Clean the World, an organization dedicated to making hygiene products accessible to people worldwide, the university-owned hotel was able to divert nearly two years worth of leftover soap and shampoos, totaling over 6,500 pounds, to the organization.
Bristol CC Opens LEED Platinum Building
The 46,000 square foot, John J. Sbrega Health and Science building is a zero net energy classroom and science lab, and features a photovoltaic system along with an air source-ground source heating and cooling system, which combined allows the building to move away from fossil fuel usage. Other sustainable building elements include solar hot water production, efficient LED lighting and filtered, ductless fume hoods.
Utah State U Building Attains LEED Gold
The new building at the university's Brigham City campus joins nine others at USU with LEED Gold status and features fixtures designed to use approximately 46 percent less water than traditional fixtures, energy efficiency and 44 percent of the building’s materials were extracted, harvested or manufactured within 500 miles.
Northern Arizona U Wins Two Awards for High-Efficiency Lighting
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Interior Lighting Campaign awarded the university top honors in two categories: Best Use of Lighting Controls in a Single Building and Exemplary Higher Education Sector Site. Overall, the 2016 Interior Lighting Campaign recognized 13 organizations for exemplary performance in their application of high-efficiency lighting systems.
APPA Names 2016 Sustainability Award Winners
APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities, better known as simply APPA, recently named its award recipients for its Sustainability Award. They are Colorado State University, Elon University, George Washington University, Ohio University, Portland Community College, Spelman College, University of Michigan and University of Virginia. APPA's Sustainability Award in facilities management is designed to recognize and advance sustainability excellence in educational facilities.
Northern Kentucky U Building Achieves LEED Gold
The university's newly renovated and expanded Campus Recreation Center features 80 ground-source heating and cooling wells, landscape designed to lessen water consumption and energy-efficient mechanical systems.
Loyola U Chicago Installs Decals to Reduce Avian Collisions with Buildings
Over the last several years the Student Operation for Avian Relief (SOAR) project has identified the large east facing windows of the university's Norville Center for Intercollegiate Athletics as being particularly dangerous for migrating birds. As a result, the Facilities Department worked with Athletics to design and install a decal that should reduce bird collisions. SOAR will monitor avian impact during the upcoming fall migration period.
U British Columbia Boasts High Savings from Lab Challenge
One hundred and twelve participants, forming 18 teams, from 11 buildings across two campuses competed in a challenge to make research labs more energy efficient. The results yielded over 7,500-kilowatt-hours per year in energy savings, primarily through raising the freezer temperatures from minus 80 degrees C to minus 70 degrees.
Indiana U-Purdue U to Obtain Zero Waste Athletic Facility
The university's Natatorium will be ready to operate as a zero-waste athletic facility in June, becoming the first athletic facility in Indiana to achieve zero-waste goals and hosting the first Olympic event to have the zero-waste designation. Being a zero-waste venue means that by weight, 90 percent of all waste must be recycled or composted. Only 10 percent may be disposed of as trash.
U New Hampshire Procures Hydro-Energy
The university now purchases energy from three hydro-energy facilities that provide over $200,000 in annual cost savings. Currently 88 percent of the university's total power comes from a combined heat and power plant.
Harvard U Building Earns LEED Platinum
Last updated in the 1940s, improvements to Longfellow Hall’s infrastructure included efficiency updates to the boiler plant, installation of energy recovery units for enhanced ventilation, substantial insulation upgrades to ensure reduced energy usage and the use of step-dimming. The building is expected to use 39 percent less lighting power.
