State University of New York at Cortland
IN-26: Innovation C

In 2015 a group of campuses within the State University of New York (“SUNY”) system started to contemplate what our collective renewable energy needs look like. How much energy do we all use? How can we secure an increasing portion of those needs from local renewable energy sources? As the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 467,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe we are compelled to figure out a solution. After a few surveys to determine system wide level of interest a core group of five campuses set out to develop a solution. SUNY consumes over 1,300,336 MWh of electricity through various suppliers each year. To address the increasing threat of climate change, SUNY recently set a goal to source 100 percent of its grid supplied electricity from zero-net-carbon resources, including renewable and energy storage as soon as possible with a total potential of 1,300,000 MWH annually. In support of this effort, sixteen (16) State University of New York (“SUNY”) campuses and five (5) New York private institutions of higher education are cooperating to achieve common objectives in their New York Higher Education Large Scale Renewable Energy (“NY HE LSRE”) consortium to procure Large Scale Renewable Energy (LSRE) projects. SUNY Cortland is a founding member to the consortium’s Steering Committee. As one of the member campuses to have developed one of the only large scale renewable energy purchase agreements in 2014, we have assisted a number of other campuses within the SUNY System as well as other State agencies in advancing opportunities for renewable energy in New York State. The NY HE LSRE consortium seeks to provide a cost-effective way for campuses to source renewable energy supply to meet their energy and sustainability goals, mitigate the risks against volatile electric and gas prices, and provide academic and research opportunities. SUNY System Administration, as the lead entity for NY HE LSRE and all SUNY campuses, are seeking consulting services to assist with achievement of these goals and support the implementation of the consortium's goals. The selected consultant will prepare solicitation documents as needed to solicit long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) proposals from LSRE project developers to meet the NY HE LSRE and SUNY goals. The consortium has a specific goal to have member campuses contracted for new LSRE projects prepared for commercial operation by 12/31/2020. Key Aspects of NY HE LSRE proposal • Committed group of Colleges and Universities within New York State that wish to develop Large Scale Renewable energy resources AT SCALE. • Many campuses have tried to develop Solar and even Large Wind projects however the overhead costs and development time frame is often long and requires persistence to fulfill the project needs. Usually these projects are 2 Megawatts (MW) or smaller in size. Working as a group we pool resources and pool needs to lower overhead, increase purchasing power and realize individual campus goals for budget stabilization, renewable energy commitments, and lowering Greenhouse Gas emissions. Possible project size is in the 100s of MW in scale. • State’s Clean Energy Standard developing a path and a goal for a renewable energy commitment. In 2015, when the Clean Energy Standard was first announced, the initial goal was to develop 50% renewable electricity supply by 2030. This initial target has since been increased to achieve 70% renewable energy by 2050. Working as a consortium, we have aggregated the purchasing needs to define pathway to achieve these initial goals. • Working as a group, this opportunity facilitates a detailed cost evaluation and risk management considerations for all viable options to protect the financial interests of New York State.