Portland Community College
OP-5: Energy Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
6.15 / 10.00 |
Stephania
Fregosi Sustainability Analyst Academic Affairs |
5.1 Energy consumption per square meter
Convert site energy figures to megawatt-hours (MWh) using the STARS energy calculator or an equivalent resource.
Peer group:
Gross floor area of building space:
Electricity
Description of the on-site renewable systems:
Solar Energy Production - Summary
In FY 2023, PCC produced just under 1 MWh of renewable solar energy on its campuses across 5 arrays. Two additional arrays came online on FY 2024.
|
Array Location |
kWh produced in FY 2023 (year ending June 30) |
Array Details Array Size |
|
|
Willow Creek (11/20/2009)* |
120,805.00 kWh |
106 kWAC, Rooftop mounted. Constructed by Gerdling Eden and donated to the college. |
|
|
Newberg (4/27/2011)* |
89,323.00 kWh |
74.8 kwAC Includes both rooftop modules and bifacial modules that act as a canopy over the entryway. Bifacial modules produce energy from both sides. The sidewalk into the building is a pale color and assists with reflecting light into the array.
|
|
|
Rock Creek Building 9 / Tesla (PPA) (2012) |
590,604.00 kWh |
499 kW, built in 2012, as a partnership between PCC and Oregon-based public and private entities, including The Energy Trust of Oregon, SolarCity/SolarWorld, and the Oregon Department of Energy, and was funded through a solar power purchase agreement. Ground mounted, grazed by sheep. |
|
|
Columbia County - Oregon Manufacturing and Industry Center - (May 2021) |
45,679.67 kWh |
82.4 kW, rooftop mounted. |
|
|
Rock Creek Dealer Services Technology Building (March 2022) |
78,574.00 kWh |
79.2 kWAC, rooftop mounted. |
|
|
The green attributes from these arrays are owned by the Energy Trust of Oregon through 2025 and 2030 respectively. |
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On-site renewable electricity exported:
Electricity from off-site sources:
Stationary fuels
Include all liquid, solid, and gaseous fuel products sourced during the performance year for the purpose of producing electricity and/or thermal energy, irrespective of whether they were used or not. Transportation fuels are excluded.
Propane/LPG:
Heating oil:
Coal/coke:
Bioenergy products:
Other stationary fuels:
Heating and cooling from off-site sources
Include all district heating and cooling products sourced during the performance year from a utility or municipal facility.
Hot water from off-site sources:
Chilled water from off-site sources:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following six figures:
Total stationary fuel consumption:
Total heating and cooling from off-site sources:
Total annual energy consumption:
Annual energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Points earned for indicator OP 5.1:
5.2 Energy consumption per person
Full-time equivalent of employees:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following three figures:
Annual energy consumption per person:
Points earned for indicator OP 5.2:
5.3 Percentage of energy from renewable sources
Each MWh may only be counted once, i.e., in no more than one of the documentation fields provided. Note that electricity generated by on-site renewable systems is reported above for indicator 5.1. Energy attribute certificates (EACs) include RECs, GOs, and I-RECs.
Contractual instruments for renewable electricity
Electricity from certified off-site renewable sources:
Description of the certified off-site renewable sources of electricity:
Other Renewable Energy Commitments
PCC also has contracts to purchase off-site renewable energy to supplement onsite production of renewable energy. The energy is not literally wired to PCC. Instead, a third-party constructs renewable energy power plants that are connected to the grid. This energy also has an assigned green value in the form of transferrable renewable energy credits (RECs). In Oregon, these companies can also be utility companies. PCC only obtains third-party certified renewable energy credits that meet the standards outlined in Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment and that add new sources of renewable energy (solar, wind and small hydro) to the existing grid.
We participate in two of Portland General Electric's (PGE) programs: Green Future Enterprise and Green Future Impact and in a community solar program run by Arcadia. Residential utility customers may also participate in these programs. Green attributes from these projects are owned by the college and are used to help us our climate commitment with Second Nature.
Green Future Enterprise
In FY 2023, PCC purchased 1,560,461 kWh of clean wind, equivalent to avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions from 2,788,062 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle (USEPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator).
Portland General Electric’s Green Future Enterprise program sells Green-E certified renewable energy credits (RECs) to PCC. In the past, PCC has also obtained these RECS using a self-directed option at the Sylvania Campus, which allows PCC to to self-direct the public purpose charge towards the purchase of renewable energy. This option has been temporarily turned off in order to allow the campus to be eligible for various renewable energy development incentives through the Energy Trust of Oregon for improvements to the Sylvania campus.
Green Future Impact / PGE Solar Program
Portland Community College (PCC) has committed to purchasing 10,000 MWh of energy from a new Oregon-based solar facility named Pachwáywit Fields, which began operation in the spring of 2023. This is equivalent approximately to a pv array with 3805 kwAC in capacity. In FY 2023, we received a combination of purchased credits due to construction delays and actual production credits from the new facility totalling approximately 12,591,591.00 kWh, which avoided the greenhouse gas emissions from 22,407,289 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle (USEPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator) each year. That’s far enough to drive around the world 903 times!
PCC is among several participants in Oregon’s first green tariff, Green Future Impact, offered by local utility Portland General Electric. Green Future Impact is a bundled product, meaning that PCC will receive energy from the facility and the associated renewable energy credits over the course of a 15-year contract. The green tariff is a big step for PCC to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our electricity usage.
Community Solar - Oregon Shines
In FY 2023, PCC’s participation in the community solar programs run by Arcadia program resulted in 2,052,867 kWh of renewable energy credits for the college, the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions from 3,667,840 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle (USEPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator).
Our community solar program is through Arcadia. Community solar projects give customers an opportunity to subscribe to a portion of production from a solar plant and in exchange, customers receive a credit on their monthly utility bill for the electricity generated from that portion of the system. The Oregon Community Solar program is run by the state and funded by state tax on our utility bills. PCC’s subscription began in 2022 and will continue to expand until the final facility is constructed.
Community solar projects can be located on buildings or be free-standing. PCC is subscribed to three such Oregon based projects as a customer of Portland General Electric and three as a customer of Pacific Power. The Pacific Power contracts are expected to be complete by the end of the Fiscal Year in June of 2024. The remainder of the projects will be coming online over the course of the next year and are 20-year contracts. PCC expects these facilities to provide PCC with an estimated annual average of 6,737,056 kWh. This is equivalent to avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions from 12,037,041 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle (USEPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator).
Each plant is located within the state of Oregon and would not have otherwise been built without the participation of the subscribers. These projects do not contribute to utility obligations to meeting State of Oregon emissions reductions targets, so our participation is meaningful. In addition, a portion of the overall subscription is reserved for low-income residential customers.
Electricity from uncertified off-site renewable sources:
Description of the uncertified off-site renewable sources of electricity:
Certified unbundled EACs:
Description of the certified unbundled EACs:
Renewable stationary fuels
Convert all units to MWh using the STARS energy calculator or an equivalent resource. Include products sourced during the performance year for the purpose of producing electricity and/or thermal energy, irrespective of whether they were used or not.
Description of the certified bioenergy products:
Uncertified biomethane from organic waste or landfill gas:
Description of the uncertified biomethane products:
Heating and cooling from off-site renewable sources
For example, district steam or hot water supplied by a municipal geothermal system. Convert all units to MWh using the STARS energy calculator or an equivalent resource.
Description of the certified off-site renewable sources of heating and cooling:
Heating and cooling from uncertified off-site renewable sources:
Description of the uncertified off-site renewable sources of heating and cooling:
Demand reduction
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following seven figures:
Electricity from renewable sources:
Renewable stationary fuels:
Heating and cooling from off-site renewable sources:
Annual renewable energy consumption:
Percentage of energy from renewable sources:
Points earned for indicator OP 5.3:
5.4 Percentage of electricity from on-site or certified renewable sources
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following three figures:
Percentage of electricity from on-site and/or third party certified renewable sources:
Points earned for indicator OP 5.4:
Optional documentation
Note, Energy Calculations were made with FY 2023 space and Enrollment data along with the GHGS. LEED Certification includes 2025.
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.