Skidmore College
OP-6: Clean and Renewable Energy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.84 / 4.00 |
Levi
Rogers Director of Sustainability Programs and Assessment Sustainability Office |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Total energy consumption (electric and non-electric)
187,158.83
MMBtu
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) | 4,793,851 Kilowatt-hours | 16,356.62 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site, clean and renewable sources (rights retained/retired) | 0 Kilowatt-hours | 0 MMBtu |
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable electricity:
Solar Photovoltaic- In 2014, Skidmore cut the ribbon on its 2-megawatt solar array located on College grounds about one mile from the main campus. The array consists of 6,950 ground-mounted panels that provide about 12% of the College's electricity needs. The project was made possible through a partnership with Dynamic Energy, Washington Gas, and funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Background on the solar project:
In 2012, two graduating seniors presented their capstone research project, Solar on Skidmore, prompting Skidmore to more seriously consider solar in its energy portfolio. In the same year, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched the New York Sun Initiative administered through New York State Energy Research and Development (NYSERDA) to expand solar installations in the state, and favorable remote net metering regulations further incentivized the development of renewable energy projects. With such timely and favorable opportunities, the College began pursuing photovoltaic solar energy. Dynamic Energy approached Skidmore College, and in collaboration with Washington Gas through a power purchase agreement (PPA), developed plans for a 2-megawatt solar array. Upon completion of the State Environmental Quality Review Act assessment, open community meetings, and planning board hearings, the College was approved to build what would be one of the largest solar arrays in the state.
Hydro
Green-E RECs
Background on the solar project:
In 2012, two graduating seniors presented their capstone research project, Solar on Skidmore, prompting Skidmore to more seriously consider solar in its energy portfolio. In the same year, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched the New York Sun Initiative administered through New York State Energy Research and Development (NYSERDA) to expand solar installations in the state, and favorable remote net metering regulations further incentivized the development of renewable energy projects. With such timely and favorable opportunities, the College began pursuing photovoltaic solar energy. Dynamic Energy approached Skidmore College, and in collaboration with Washington Gas through a power purchase agreement (PPA), developed plans for a 2-megawatt solar array. Upon completion of the State Environmental Quality Review Act assessment, open community meetings, and planning board hearings, the College was approved to build what would be one of the largest solar arrays in the state.
Hydro
Green-E RECs
A brief description of the on-site renewable electricity generating facilities/devices:
---
Clean and renewable thermal energy
| MMBtu | |
| Clean and renewable stationary fuels used on-site to generate thermal energy | 61,741 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:
The numbers reported above account for Skidmore's six solar thermal projects and our geothermal systems.
Solar Thermal:
Skidmore College has six solar thermal systems installed to support the domestic hot water needs of our campus. Penfield, McClellan, Kimball, and Wilmarth residence halls each have a 10-panel array that supplies about 30% of the domestic hot water needs for each building. Skidmore's Van Lennep Riding Center also has a 10-panel solar thermal array, supplying hot water at our horse stables located on Daniels Road.
Skidmore's sixth recent solar thermal project was made possible by a successful crowdfunding campaign that was launched by the Office of Advancement. The 54-panel array sits atop the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall and supplies the building with over 1000 gallons of hot water every day. This project was made possible thanks to generous donations from students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the College, along with funding support from Skidmore College and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Geothermal:
About 40% of the campus is heated and cooled with geothermal energy. The Arthur Zankel Music Center, Filene Music Building, Saisselin Art Center, Northwoods and Sussman Village Apartments, the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall, Wiecking Hall, the Tang Teaching Museum, and the Dance Center utilize geothermal heating and cooling systems. These systems provide 100% of the cooling needs and about 70% of the heating needs of the apartments and Music Center and about 95% of the heating needs of the dining hall.
In 2012, Skidmore College won the Best Campus Sustainability Case Study Award from AASHE for our innovative district geothermal system. A district field is one that supplies heating and cooling energy to multiple buildings, unlike stand-alone systems that provide energy to a single building. Two district geothermal systems are operational, and a third district system was built to support an additional 10% of campus square footage. The College has 23 stand-alone systems supporting the buildings in the Northwoods and Sussman Apartment Villages and the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall.
The Arts Quad district system is an 84-bore geothermal field designed to heat and cool Zankel Music Theatre, Filene Hall, Saisselin Art Building, and the Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Theater (178,300 square feet). Skidmore’s district design reduced the number of geothermal bores and total field loop size by 25% when compared to a stand-alone system. The buildings in the Arts Quad can also communicate to distribute surplus energy between buildings rather than pulling energy from the bore field.
In 2014, Skidmore installed its second district field under Wiecking Green. This 64-bore field supplies heating and cooling energy to Wiecking Hall, the Tang Teaching Museum, and our Dance Center. In 2016, the College completed the construction of our third district field. This 240-bore system is designed to support the heating and cooling needs of the Tisch Learning Center, Bolton Hall, Palamountain Hall, the Dana Science Center, and Skidmore's new Center for Integrated Sciences.
The Murray-Aikins Dining Hall and all 22 campus apartment buildings (over 200 individual apartments) are heated and cooled with stand-alone geothermal systems.
Solar Thermal:
Skidmore College has six solar thermal systems installed to support the domestic hot water needs of our campus. Penfield, McClellan, Kimball, and Wilmarth residence halls each have a 10-panel array that supplies about 30% of the domestic hot water needs for each building. Skidmore's Van Lennep Riding Center also has a 10-panel solar thermal array, supplying hot water at our horse stables located on Daniels Road.
Skidmore's sixth recent solar thermal project was made possible by a successful crowdfunding campaign that was launched by the Office of Advancement. The 54-panel array sits atop the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall and supplies the building with over 1000 gallons of hot water every day. This project was made possible thanks to generous donations from students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the College, along with funding support from Skidmore College and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Geothermal:
About 40% of the campus is heated and cooled with geothermal energy. The Arthur Zankel Music Center, Filene Music Building, Saisselin Art Center, Northwoods and Sussman Village Apartments, the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall, Wiecking Hall, the Tang Teaching Museum, and the Dance Center utilize geothermal heating and cooling systems. These systems provide 100% of the cooling needs and about 70% of the heating needs of the apartments and Music Center and about 95% of the heating needs of the dining hall.
In 2012, Skidmore College won the Best Campus Sustainability Case Study Award from AASHE for our innovative district geothermal system. A district field is one that supplies heating and cooling energy to multiple buildings, unlike stand-alone systems that provide energy to a single building. Two district geothermal systems are operational, and a third district system was built to support an additional 10% of campus square footage. The College has 23 stand-alone systems supporting the buildings in the Northwoods and Sussman Apartment Villages and the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall.
The Arts Quad district system is an 84-bore geothermal field designed to heat and cool Zankel Music Theatre, Filene Hall, Saisselin Art Building, and the Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Theater (178,300 square feet). Skidmore’s district design reduced the number of geothermal bores and total field loop size by 25% when compared to a stand-alone system. The buildings in the Arts Quad can also communicate to distribute surplus energy between buildings rather than pulling energy from the bore field.
In 2014, Skidmore installed its second district field under Wiecking Green. This 64-bore field supplies heating and cooling energy to Wiecking Hall, the Tang Teaching Museum, and our Dance Center. In 2016, the College completed the construction of our third district field. This 240-bore system is designed to support the heating and cooling needs of the Tisch Learning Center, Bolton Hall, Palamountain Hall, the Dana Science Center, and Skidmore's new Center for Integrated Sciences.
The Murray-Aikins Dining Hall and all 22 campus apartment buildings (over 200 individual apartments) are heated and cooled with stand-alone geothermal systems.
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable thermal energy:
N/A
Unbundled renewable energy products
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Purchased RECs, GOs, I-RECs or equivalent unbundled renewable energy products certified by a third party | 2,391,932.30 Kilowatt-hours | 8,161.27 MMBtu |
A brief description of the unbundled renewable energy products:
Green-e RECs: Biomass from Florida.
Metrics used in scoring
86,258.89
MMBtu
Percentage of total energy consumption from clean and renewable sources:
46.09
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 | --- |
| Coal | --- |
| Geothermal | --- |
| Hydro | 10.60 |
| Natural gas | --- |
| Nuclear | --- |
| Solar photovoltaic | 9.50 |
| Wind | --- |
| Other (please specify and explain below) | --- |
A brief description of other sources of electricity not specified above:
---
Energy used for heating buildings, by source::
| Percentage of total energy used to heat buildings (0-100) | |
| Biomass | --- |
| Coal | --- |
| Electricity | --- |
| Fuel oil | --- |
| Geothermal | 35 |
| Natural gas | 65 |
| 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.