The UMass Energy Transition Institute, School of Earth and Sustainability and Clean Energy Extension hosted a Campus Decarbonization Forum recently as a way for leaders in higher education sustainability to share their successes, challenges and roadmaps to transition their campuses to clean energy. The event included a panel of representatives from UMass Amherst, UMass Chan Medical School, Smith College and the University of Michigan.

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Ezra Small, UMass Amherst campus sustainability manager, examined the university’s work to transform its electric chiller plant into an electric heating and cooling plant. In addition to improvements at the chiller plant itself, the project includes the drilling of 70 800-foot-deep wells in lot 31 – which was completed last year – construction of a thermal energy storage tank and low temperature hot water distribution lines.

“What we’re trying to do now is capture extra waste heat, put it in the ground when we don’t need it, and then discharge it when we do need it,” he says. “Then you can reverse that process during the cooling season.”

Small thinks of this well system as a seasonal thermal battery, while the thermal energy storage tank—which can hold as much water as 150 backyard swimming pools and helps the university avoid pulling from the grid during times of peak energy usage—is more of a daily battery. When demand on the grid is high—during a hot summer day, for example—electrical companies compensate by temporarily turning on power plants that run on dirtier fossil fuels, like oil. Instead, UMass can cool the water at night when the ambient temperature is lower and then discharge it during the day as an alternative to pulling from the grid to cool buildings.

These efforts have not come without their challenges. “What hasn’t been discussed is how disruptive putting new pipes in the ground really is to a college campus,” he adds. “Just to cross under a street, it took us six weeks because we ran into a 7-foot boulder and there’s a string of spaghetti of other utilities dating back 160 years on this campus.”

Both the new Computer Science Laboratory and Sustainable Engineering Laboratory are integrated with this ground-source heating and fully electrified (with steam only installed as a backup in case of a power outage).

Other points of pride in UMass Amherst’s sustainability efforts include a gold rating in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, and ranking ninth in The Princeton Review’s Top 50 Green Colleges. UMass has also built its solar program from its start in 2013 to one of the largest on-campus arrays in New England, producing over 10 megawatts of power.

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Alex Barron, associate professor of environmental science and policy at Smith College, gave an overview of his study exploring net-zero and decarbonization efforts in higher education. His research has found that the actions that are emphasized as key strategies—namely, new carbon-zero electricity, energy efficiency and electrification—are not the main practices used by schools that achieve carbon neutrality. 

Instead, from his study’s updated data set, he noted that 69% of campus emission reductions are associated with buying offsets, not reducing fossil fuel consumption. The other actions taken by higher education institutions that have met carbon neutrality standards include bioenergy and purchasing unbundled renewable energy credits. 

Smith’s own transition from gas and steam to solar and heat pumps has centered around building more renewables; converting central plants from gas boilers, electric chillers and gas turbines to ground-source geothermal heat pumps; and updating distribution lines, Barron said. 

UMass Chan currently has a natural-gas powered heat and power co-generation plant that generates 90% of the electricity on campus. With 640 beds and the sole Level 1 trauma center in the region, this grid independence is critical, yet also comes with a significant carbon footprint, as it is fueled by natural gas. Suzanne Wood, senior director of sustainability and campus services, explained how UMass Chan is currently evaluating the feasibility of various decarbonization strategies. Leading strategies they are considering include electrifying the current natural gas fired steam boilers and chillers, hybrid heat pumps and small modular reactors. 

Shana Weber, inaugural associate vice president for campus sustainability at the University of Michigan, outlined the university’s portfolio approach. This includes electrification, Michigan-based renewable energy—including 25 megawatts of on-campus solar, 80 megawatts of solar ppa (power purchase agreements), installing geoexchange systems, testing new technology, and improving building efficiency. She added that the university’s other notable accomplishments include its LEED Platinum-certified hospital and a lab swap shop program that has generated $1 million in savings by re-using surplus chemicals, lab equipment and other materials.

“Colleges and universities often aspire to be leaders in the clean energy transition, but they face a unique set of decarbonization challenges,” said Jared Starr, executive director of the UMass Amherst Energy Transition Institute. “The goal of this event was to create fellowship across our different institutions and to learn from each other. We had a packed room and an online audience across the country. It was wonderful to learn about the different approaches campuses are taking and to see how much passion and interest there is in this topic.”