Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.45
Liaison Ryan Ihrke
Submission Date Oct. 17, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Green Mountain College
OP-9: Clean and Renewable Energy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.27 / 4.00 Aaron Witham
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total energy consumption (all sources, transportation fuels excluded), performance year:
53,325 MMBtu

Clean and renewable energy from the following sources::
Performance Year
Option 1: Clean and renewable electricity generated on-site during the performance year and for which the institution retains or has retired the associated environmental attributes 333.87 MMBtu
Option 2: Non-electric renewable energy generated on-site 28,904.37 MMBtu
Option 3: Clean and renewable electricity generated by off-site projects that the institution catalyzed and for which the institution retains or has retired the associated environmental attributes 0 MMBtu
Option 4: Purchased third-party certified RECs and similar renewable energy products (including renewable electricity purchased through a certified green power purchasing option) 1,070 MMBtu

A brief description of on-site renewable electricity generating devices :

A 150 kW steam turbine produces electricity using high pressure steam created by the combined heat and power biomass plant. On cold days when demand for steam to heat buildings is high, high-pressure steam first runs through the turbine to create electricity with a generator.

Additionally, in 2013, a 156 kW solar array was installed on the south side of campus to help build the solar capacity of the region and to serve as an educational facility for students entering the renewable energy field. The College does not yet retain the RECs for this project, so it is not counted under option one above. However, the College does retain the renewable attributes of two small solar projects: a 5.8 kW solar charging station and a 3.6 kW roof-top array on the Olwen Solar Garage.


A brief description of on-site renewable non-electric energy devices:

Steam production for heat and hot water on central campus is produced by a combined heat and power (CHP) biomass plant, powered by locally-sourced woodchips, two thirds of which are harvested within 50 miles of the College. The chips are baked to release pyrolysis gas, which is burned to create steam. The plant produces the majority of the heat and hot water consumed on campus.


A brief description of off-site, institution-catalyzed, renewable electricity generating devices:
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A brief description of the RECs and/or similar renewable energy products:

In the fall of 2012, Green Mountain College paid a four cent premium on 25% of its main campus electricity purchased from Green Mountain Power to support the Cow Power Program. Since then, the College has stopped purchasing cow power for the main campus meter, but continues to pay the Cow Power premium on 50% of the electricity consumed by eight other accounts, including Griswold, Feick, Richardson, the President's House, the Two Editor's Inn, the soccer field, the barn at the farm, and the Dean's House. Cow Power uses the premium to support methane digesters on dairy farms in Vermont for the production of electricity using cow manure. The RECs for this project were retained by Green Mountain College.


The website URL where information about the institution's renewable energy sources is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Performance year is FY 2013. Please note that as of the date of this report (2014), Green Mountain College is currently not participating in the Cow Power program on the main campus meter, but is still participating in eight other smaller accounts.


Performance year is FY 2013. Please note that as of the date of this report (2014), Green Mountain College is currently not participating in the Cow Power program on the main campus meter, but is still participating in eight other smaller accounts.

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.