Energy
Introduction
For most institutions, energy consumption is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global climate change. Implementing conservation measures and switching to renewable sources of energy can help institutions save money and protect them from utility rate volatility. Renewable energy may be generated locally and allow campuses to support local economic development. Furthermore, institutions can help shape markets by creating demand for cleaner, renewable sources of energy.
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Developing Energy Management Programs for a More Sustainable Campus
- California State University, Dominguez Hills (CA)
- Enlighted Inc. (CA)
In 2012, California State University Dominguez Hills' Central Plant Manager, Kenny Seeton, was tasked with finding a way to limit energy expenditures on campus in order to meet the university's …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Deploying On-Site Renewable Energy Generation at Colleges and Universities: A Guide to What You Need to Know
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (DC)
- ERG Consulting Firm (MA)
Colleges and universities are increasingly deploying on-site renewable energy generation technologies to power their campuses. The drivers of this growth are the falling prices of renewable technologies and federal, state, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Achieving Ambitious Energy Goals on a University Campus
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs (CO)
- Hord Coplan Macht (MD)
This session will describe the tools and process used to design a public higher education building that is modeled to save 40% over ASHRAE. The owner utilized a quasi-Performance Design …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The competition landscape: 5 years of data from Campus Conservation Nationals
- Alliance to Save Energy (CA)
- Atrius (CA)
Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) is the nation's largest electricity and water reduction competition for college campuses. It aims to engage, educate, motivate and empower students and staff to reduce resource …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Hastily Formed and Sufficiently Executed Support for a Thesis That Changed Student Energy Use
- Middlebury College (VT)
- Atrius (CA)
Using the campus as a learning laboratory is a great concept. Doing it well often means busy people from different quarters of the campus community coming together to plan and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Rice University Integrated Climate and Energy Master Plan (RICEMaP)
- Rice University (TX)
- Sebesta (MN)
Beginning in 2012, Rice University - a signatory of the American College and University President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) - partnered with Sebesta to develop the Rice Integrated Climate and Energy …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Achieving and Promoting a Lower Carbon Footprint on Campus - Energy Efficiency and Solar Arrays
- Spelman College (GA)
- Sterling Planet, Inc. (GA)
Visible marketing is the path to community engagement and public outreach initiatives to grow development of sustainable changes on campus and within our communities. Whether completing energy efficiency project or …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Assessing the Feasibility of a Microgrid to Reinforce Campus Climate Resiliency
- Middlebury College (VT)
Catastrophic weather events like Katrina, Irene, Sandy and others have raised concern about being prepared for the uncertainties of climate change. Students participating in the summer Middlebury School of the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Residential Living: Energy Monitoring on a College Campus
- Macalester College (MN)
This panel presentation will analyze the unique benefits and challenges associated with the installation of an energy monitoring system on a college campus from multiple perspectives. Macalester College recently installed …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Fossil Fuel Free Fish House
- Bemidji State University (MN)
For the past year, the Bemidji State University Sustainability Office has been working with several partners to create a fossil fuel-free fish house. The house will eventually be placed on …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Greening the Sciences at Colorado College
- Colorado College (CO)
As members of the Sustainability Council at Colorado College, we learned that science buildings use far more energy for their size than other buildings on a college campus. So we …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Engineering Meetup & Mixer
- Engineers for a Sustainable World (CO)
In our past attendance at AASHE, we have found that there was no nexus for technical faculty and students to gravitate towards. While we are strong supporters of interdisciplinary collaboration, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Lessons from Germany to the US 3: Power
- Grinnell College (IA)
Solar is much more extensively used in Germany than in the U. S., in part because of feed-in tariffs that encourage both homeowners and larger institutions to install solar panels …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Beyond Conservation-Reimagining the Purpose of Energy Education: An interactive issue of Journal of Sustainability Education
- Prescott College (AZ)
A major challenge to human quality of life in the 21st century is going to be our successful ability to shift the burden of our energy resources and the way …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability without sacrifice: How URIs are saving money & reducing GHG emissions by investing in energy efficiency
- Sustainable Endowments Institute (MA)
Finding a way to prioritize and finance sustainability projects can be difficult for any institution, but may present a unique struggle at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and under-resourced institutions (URIs). To …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable design and construction contest
- Universidad de Monterrey
Universidad de Monterrey created a multidisciplinary contest were students must develop an alternative energy systems and sustainable building proposal on a non-profit organization that attends people in situations of vulnerability, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Multi-Decadal Appraisal of the Demotechnic Index: 1980-2012
- University of Arkansas (AR)
The Demotechnic Index (D-Index) is a metric of energy efficiency calculated by summing technological energy use and metabolic energy requirements of a population then dividing by the metabolic energy requirement …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The University of Iowa Biomass Energy Sustainability Index
- University of Iowa (IA)
The University of Iowa (UI) is working to decrease its use of fossil fuels and explore new energy alternatives to meet its goal of 40 percent renewable energy by 2020. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Hair dryers, gaming systems, and fans: Engaging an online Social Psychology Class in an Energy Competition for Residence Halls
- University of Minnesota, Duluth (MN)
This presentation describes the development, implementation, and outcomes of an online Social Psychology class project designed to reduce energy consumption among students living in a campus residence hall. The co-curricular …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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University of Missouri Energy Strategies Student Advisory Group: What's Our Potential?
- University of Missouri (MO)
Students and staff at the University of Missouri (MU) created the Energy Strategies Student Advisory Group (ESSAG) in 2012 to explore coal-free technologies for our on-site energy management facility. Through …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Innovations in building renewable biomass energy infrastructure for effective operational and academic performance
- University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (WI)
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has been increasingly expanding its renewable energy infrastructure on campus during the past decade. The university's renewable energy portfolio now includes geothermal, solar thermal, solar …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Lights Out!
- Wells College (NY)
I was part of a small group of students assigned the topic of 'Energy Usage' as a project in our Psychology of Environmental Sustainability Class. We wanted to measure the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Transforming Campus Sustainability & Education: The Student-Led Appalachian State University Renewable Energy Initiative
- Appalachian State University (NC)
The student initiated, funded, & led Renewable Energy Initiative transformed higher education at Appalachian State University. The ASUREI strives to reduce the environmental impact of ASU through the implementation of …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Energy Strategies for Climate Adaptation
- Ever-Green Energy (MN)
Communities have a growing demand for environmental solutions and partnerships with campuses can help all stakeholders realize sustainability goals that are more cost-competitive, reliable, and resilient. Essentially, merging assets and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Data Visualization and Benchmarking Tools for Predictive Sustainable Decision-Making at Georgia Tech
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
Like many universities, we have a lot of data, but decision-makers do not always know how to interpret it or how to use it to set campus priorities. We also …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Energy Metering for Energy Management; If You Can't Measure It...
- Honeywell (NH)
Energy management requires energy information, and energy meters are a key source of energy information. Metering answers these questions: which buildings are 'energy hogs'? Where and when are utility services …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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From Pollution to Possibility: A Sustainable Solution to Biodiesel Production Wastewater
- Loyola University Chicago (IL)
Biodiesel is often seen as a potential solution to our energy crisis because of its ability to take waste products and convert them into fuel. In Loyola's biodiesel lab, waste …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Saving energy at Macalester: Research on dormitory energy consumption displays
- Macalester College (MN)
Macalester College is committed to reducing its energy consumption and reaching carbon neutrality by 2025. With this goal in mind, the Macalester College Sustainability Office has established a partnership with …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Solar Energy at Macalester College
- Macalester College (MN)
This poster will describe the research process and deliberations at Macalester College in an effort to reduce the college's GHG emissions via renewable energy. An student initiative of the campus …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Macalester College Tour
- Macalester College (MN)
Macalester College has been a leader in sustainability since the 1960s when students started a recycling program and Facilities Services started working on energy conservation. The school also hosts the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Big Potato, Hot Potato, Little potato: Start Sub-Metering Utilities with Limited Resources
- Macalester College (MN)
The 'big-potato' task of sub-metering your entire campus can be daunting just thinking about it, let-alone getting it going. Where do you start? Which 'hot-potato' do you meter first? Electrical …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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NYU Microgrid: Resiliency During Super Storm Sandy
- New York University (NY)
A case study of the design, construction, operation and benefits of the NYU cogeneration plant and the NYU microgrid which supplies electricity to 26 buildings and heating and cooling to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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University of Alberta - Leaders in Energy Management since 1975
- University of Alberta (AB)
A very successful Energy Management Program has been in place at the University of Alberta since the mid-1970s. In the four decades since, the university has reduced its energy costs …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Mass Balance of Humanity: Attempting A Global Inventory
- University of Arkansas (AR)
The non-renewable resource base on which human technological society depends is finite. While this is quite well-understood, estimating the total mass of those non-renewable resources presents a daunting challenge. In …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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University of Iowa Biomass Fuel Project: Miscanthus as a Dedicated Energy Crop
- University of Iowa (IA)
The University of Iowa (UI) is working to decrease its use of fossil fuels to meet its goal of 40 percent renewable energy by 2020. The UI currently burns coal, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Decade of Clean Energy Implementation at University of Minnesota, Morris and a New Collaboration with the City of Morris
- University of Minnesota, Morris (MN)
In 2014, University of Minnesota, Morris (Morris) earned the Second Nature Climate Leadership Award. Over the past decade, Morris has underwent a radical physical transformation. Morris is home to biomass …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Reimagining Parking - Parking Lots & Garages As Power Plant Plants
- Solaire Generation
Onsite renewable energy projects have typically focused on available roof and ground space for installation. A significant opportunity exists to enhance the use of surface and structured parking for onsite …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Low-cost, High Impact Engagement & Energy Conservation Campaigns
- Western Washington University (WA)
Every campus has diverse, overlapping populations, with vastly different habits and backgrounds. Sustainability professionals and student coordinators are challenged to engage, educate and support behavior change, often with a limited …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Engaging in Efficiency: Models for Campus – Led Energy Partnerships
- Allegheny College (PA)
- Kentucky Community and Technical College System Office (KY)
- Michigan State University (MI)
- United States Department of Energy (DC)
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge (BBC) is a partnership program engaging colleges, universities, and the commercial buildings sector to improve the efficiency of the nation’s building stock …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Energy Metering for Energy Management; If You Can’t Measure It...
- Honeywell (NH)
Energy management requires energy information, and energy meters are a key source of energy information. Metering answers these questions: which buildings are "energy hogs"? Where and when is electric power …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Partnerships Open New Capital Market to Spur Campus Energy Innovation
- Ball State University (IN)
- Southern Oregon University (OR)
- Spelman College (GA)
- U.S. Green Building Council (DC)
- Chevrolet (OR)
Six partners come together to share their unique perspectives on what it takes to drive systemic change across US higher education – using a ground-breaking series of public/private partnerships to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Attitudes On and Modeling Of Energy Usage Practices on College Campuses
- Manhattan College (NY)
Last year survey findings related to user behavior from the Information Sciences Institute’s flagship smart grid project (a University of Southern California (USC) research institution) captured attitudes toward energy usage …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Smart Housing Project: Measuring Use and Motivating Change
- Clarkson University (NY)
Thirteen million college students live in on-campus housing in the United States. Since these students typically do not pay their utility bills directly, efforts to motivate efficiency and conservation changes …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Tools of the Trade: How Web Apps Can Increase Energy Efficiency Impact
- Sustainable Endowments Institute (MA)
How can the right web tools help you better track and assess energy efficiency and photovoltaic projects? This workshop will bring together expert practitioners to talk about three leading web …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Case studies on behavior change and energy efficiency
- Alliance to Save Energy (CA)
Like many other areas of sustainability, energy efficiency solutions require a multifaceted approach. Retrofits and advancements in technology aren’t effective enough on their own. Behavior change strategies can be highly …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Putting the U in Community Solar: Creating a local, meaningful offset program
- University of Utah (UT)
U Community Solar is an innovative program to give the University of Utah a local, tangible way to offset its carbon footprint over the next 20 years. The one-time program …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Large Scale Solar ’Near the Fence’
- American University (DC)
- George Washington University (DC)
- Coho Climate Advisors (MD)
George Washington University (GW) and American University (AU) are collaborating on a major Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) called the Capital Partners Solar Project, along with George Washington University Hospital. The …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Lessons and Outcomes from a Campus-Wide Plug Load Equipment Inventory
- Stanford University (CA)
In order to better quantify electricity consumption and prioritize savings opportunities, Stanford has developed and launched a room-by-room physical inventory to collect data on approximately 30 types of electricity-consuming equipment …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Energy Hog in the House: Bringing Energy Efficiency to Life
- Alliance to Save Energy (CA)
The Energy Hog program is an entertaining and extremely effective outreach tool for college students to engage interested audiences from their community on topics related to energy. For many people …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A trans-disciplinary strategy to energy efficiency at a university
- University of Johannesburg (Gauteng)
In recent years, the costs of electricity in South Africa have increased significantly (cumulative 230% increase between 2008 and 2014), thus many institutions of higher education are seeking ways to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
OP 5: Building Energy Efficiency
- Total performance year site energy consumption per unit of floor area
- Total performance year source energy consumption per unit of floor area
- Percent reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline
- Description of initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices in regard to energy efficiency
- Description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution
- Description of LED lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies
- Description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies
- Description of co-generation employed by the institution
- Description of initiatives to replace energy-consuming equipment with high efficiency alternatives
- Website URL - Energy conservation and efficiency program
OP 6: Clean and Renewable Energy
- Percent of total energy consumption from clean and renewable sources
- Website URL - Clean and renewable energy programs
- Percent of electricity from coal
- Percent of electricity from geothermal
- Percent of electricity from hydro
- Percent of electricity from natural gas
- Percent of electricity from nuclear energy
- Percent of electricity from solar photovoltaic
- Percent of electricity from wind
- Percent of electricity from wind
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.