College Campus Energy/Climate Plans

Overview

• A comprehensive approach to GHGs– Energy & GHG baseline / benchmarking

• ACUPCC– College and District energy/GHG goals

• Foothill College energy system– Existing low carbon infrastructure (cogen)– What a 1MW system provides (and costs)– Ridesharing program for students/staff

How Did We Get Started?

• Energy data back to 1990– (Foothill College / De Anza College)– Facilities interest in utilities / efficiency

• Electricity and natural gas– kWh and therms– Converted to BTU/sq-ft

• Index against other metrics– Enrollment, building renovation, energy costs

Foothill College Energy System

• Cogeneration– Four C60 Capstone Microturbines

• Four solar PV arrays– 100Kw, 440Kw, and 1MW (400kw/600kw)

• Energy Management System (EMS)– Intelligent monitoring and feedback

• Building Management Controls (BMS)– Use energy when and where it’s needed

Foothill CampusEnergy Roadmap

Foothill College is an ideal test bed for innovative energy technology for clean generation, smart distribution, and efficient end use

Energy and GHG Baselines

• Look at your utility bills– Natural gas (therms) and electricity (kWh)– Use the ‘previous 12 months’ to save time

• Convert therms / kWh to BTU & GHGs– Use a standard conversion chart (very easy)

• Next calculate BTU/assigned sq-ft

• Put everything in an Excel spreadsheet

You can do this task in a few hours if you have access to your utility bills

Foothill Energy / GHGs

• 7.7 million kWh electricity total

• 6.6 million kWh imported electricity

• ~ 760K kWh cogen • ~ 711K kWh solar PV• ~400,000 therms of gas

(half are used for cogen• ~ 2 million kWh solar PV

year will be produced

• 6.6 million pounds of CO2 (1 pound / kWh) for imported electricity

• 4.7 million pounds CO2 (11.7 pounds CO2 per therm)~400,000 therms of natural gas

• ~650,000 sq-ft• ~100,000 BTU/sq-ft• 2/3 GHGs are driving

These 10-11 estimates are not based on an audited GHG reporting

http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/

Climate Action Plan (CAP)

• Fun to do!

• Study other CAPs

• AASHE/ACUPCC

• Target energy consumption (BTU/sq-ft, kWh/sq-ft, etc)

• Target GHG emissions (GHGs/FTES or sq-ft)

• Rideshare programs

Writing a plan is about analysis, synthesis, reflection, and setting a direction

Foothill Climate Action Plan

• Energy efficiency• PV and cogen• Transportation plan• Source clean electricity

(PG&E)• Smart energy tools

• Waste stream• Smart office• Smart classroom• GHG sequestering

– Carbon offsets

• Supply chain

A CAP is your action plan to achieve measureable results on a timeline that makes sense for your organization, city, family, or even a personal action plan

Why do Cogeneration?

• If you have a thermal load (swimming pool, district heat, large hot water use)

• Make your own electricity – Use waste gas to heat the pool– Get ‘free’ emission free electricity

• Or make electricity and heat the pool=> Actually get emission free electricity

You can make electricity and heat your pool at the same time, and get SGIP credit

Cogeneration Principle

http://www.epa.gov/oaintrnt/facilities/richmond_upgrades.htm

Foothill Solar PV Projects

• 100 KW– Parking lot 2a– ~140K kWh / annually

• 440 KW– Parking lot 1h– ~ 610K kWh / annually

• 1,000KW– Parking lots 2/3– ~1,600K kWh

• Developer (unknown)– Completed 2007/8– Cost est* (~$1M)

• Developer (Chevron?)– Completed 2009– Cost est* (~$3M)

• Developer (Chevron) – Completed 2010/11– Cost est* (~$7-9M)

Cost estimates are based on then current installed $/watt, doesn’t include parking upgrades

Value of Solar PV

• Solar PV production tracks HVAC load

• Starts mid morning, peaks late afternoon

• Offsets natural gas (expensive fuel)

• Avoids highest power rates (TOU)

• Decreases stress on the power grid

It is very expensive but makes sense when bundled into building upgrades. Payback periods depend on current/future energy costs and how you finance it.

Itron Interval Data 3/1 - 4/15

1 MW PV arrays came online at the very end of March 2011

Electrical Energy Contracts

• PG&E delivers your electricity, but it might be ‘sourced’ from an out of state contract (CNE)

• We are assed 1 pound CO2 per kWh (reflects combination of coal, nuclear, and natural gas)

• Fuel switching lowers GHGs, but contract switching only lowers your assessed GHGs

• With Direct Access you can purchase clean energy (wind) but avoid RECs as a GHG tool!

Social Transportation Tools

• 60% of your GHG emissions are from transportation (scope III or indirect emissions)– Indirect emissions can be influenced

• Ridesharing reduces VMT/GHGs, and improves parking congestion

• You save a pound of CO2 per mile not driven – for whatever reason

Ridesharing Culture

Social engineering for a world with fewer cars, less petroleum, and a genuine desire to collaborate

Social Transportation Networks => Tools

Flows of vehicles that have positions and paths

Flows of people that have schedules and destinations

V (P,P) <= Social Transportation Tools => P (S,D)

Ridesharing CorridorsSan Francisco

San Jose

De Anza

Foothill

Skyline Daly City

Palo Alto

Cupertino

Summary• Start with energy audit, convert to GHGs

• Determine BTU per sq-ft (benchmark)

• Publish your GHG and CAP => ACUPCC

• Use cogen if you have a swimming pool

• Get an EMS/BMS in place and ‘tuned’– Separately meter / monitor buildings*

• Purchase PV in reasonable amounts

• Develop / support a ridesharing culture!

* This might be part of LEED construction or energy efficiency renovation

References• AASHE - http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/about/commitment/why-

sign

• ACUPCC - http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/

• APPA facilities - http://www.appa.org/

• Capstone - http://www.slideshare.net/Murbine/green-sustainable-microturbines-presentation-855560

• Chevron energy - http://www.chevronenergy.com/

• GHG protocol - http://www.ghgprotocol.org/

• PG&E - http://www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/environment/calculator/assumptions.shtml

• Zimride - http://public.zimride.com/