| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.41 |
| Liaison | Ian Johnson |
| Submission Date | April 19, 2024 |
Colorado College
OP-6: Clean and Renewable Energy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.60 / 4.00 |
Total energy consumption (electric and non-electric)
Clean and renewable energy sources
Clean and renewable electricity
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity from certified/verified clean and renewable sources (i.e., bundled green power purchases) | 19,930,630 Kilowatt-hours | 68,003.31 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site, clean and renewable sources (rights retained/retired) | 506,402 Kilowatt-hours | 1,727.84 MMBtu |
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable electricity:
CC participates in the Green Power tariff (Green-e certified power) through Colorado Springs Utilities for all purchased electricity.
A brief description of the on-site renewable electricity generating facilities/devices:
Colorado College introduced its first on-campus renewable electricity project in spring of 2008. Its 22-kilowatt array was the largest solar electric system in the Colorado Springs Utilities service area at the time of permitting. During 2011/2012, CC purchased panels for the Worner Center (63,000 kWh) and in 2012/2013 for KRCC (3,240 kWh) and the Children's Center (25,200 kWh). In 2014, CC installed new solar arrays on the El Pomar Sports Center (278,000 kWh/yr), the Cornerstone Arts Center (164,600 kWh/yr), the Spencer Center (18 kW array), Synergy House (4.3 kW array), and the Dean's house (10.7 kW array). In 2015, CC installed a new solar array at the Baca Campus (31 kW array). Carbon-neutral Tutt Library (110 KW), East Campus Housing 50 KW. CC has approximately 500kW of on-site solar installed where we retain all RECs.
Clean and renewable thermal energy
| MMBtu | |
| Clean and renewable stationary fuels used on-site to generate thermal energy | 0 MMBtu |
| Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water from certified/verified clean and renewable sources | 0 MMBtu |
A brief description of the clean and renewable stationary fuels:
CC has a solar thermal array on the roof of the Worner Student Center. CC also has a geothermal heating/cooling system under Tava Quad as a heat sink and source for Tutt Library and under the East campus parking lot for the East campus housing constructed in 2017.
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable thermal energy:
Unbundled renewable energy products
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Purchased RECs, GOs, I-RECs or equivalent unbundled renewable energy products certified by a third party | 19,930,630 Kilowatt-hours | 68,003.31 MMBtu |
A brief description of the unbundled renewable energy products:
REC's purchased from Colorado State University.
Metrics used in scoring
Percentage of total energy consumption from clean and renewable sources:
Optional Fields
Sierra magazine requests the following information from U.S. institutions that wish to share data with that organization:
| Percentage of total electricity use (0-100) | |
| Biomass | 0 |
| Coal | 22 |
| Geothermal | 0 |
| Hydro | 8 |
| Natural gas | 46 |
| Nuclear | 0 |
| Solar photovoltaic | 6 |
| Wind | 5 |
| Other (please specify and explain below) | 13 |
A brief description of other sources of electricity not specified above:
13% of CC's electricity is sourced from what Colorado Springs Utilities refers to as "mixed market". It is a make up of the company's day-to-day purchases of resources intended to balance its electric system. It does not consist of wind, hydro or solar but does include natural gas purchases and electric purchases from neighboring suppliers to provide daily balance. 100% of CC's power is PV Green-e certified.
Energy used for heating buildings, by source::
| Percentage of total energy used to heat buildings (0-100) | |
| Biomass | 0 |
| Coal | 0 |
| Electricity | 0 |
| Fuel oil | 0 |
| Geothermal | 0 |
| Natural gas | 100 |
| Other (please specify and explain below) | --- |
A brief description of other sources of building heating not specified above:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.