| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.01 |
| Liaison | Jen Crothers |
| Submission Date | Aug. 4, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of British Columbia
OP-9: Clean and Renewable Energy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.22 / 4.00 |
Orion
Henderson Director, Energy Planning and Innovation Energy and Water Services |
Total energy consumption (all sources, transportation fuels excluded), performance year:
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 | 0 MMBtu |
| Option 2: Non-electric renewable energy generated on-site | 101,300 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) | 0 MMBtu |
A brief description of on-site renewable electricity generating devices :
UBC’s Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF) (http://energy.ubc.ca/projects/brdf/) contains an internal combustion engine with dual fuel capabilities (natural gas or clean biomass syngas from gasified wood waste). In the the year previous to the performance year (Fiscal year 2012/13), the engine consumed engine grade clean biomass syngas to produce 205MWh of electricity. When biomass syngas is unavailable, UBC uses Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), an accredited carbon neutral biofuel, to fuel the engine to provide 2.0MW of electricity, 1.4MW of steam, and 1MW of hot water for UBC’s District Energy System. The engine is currently operating on RNG and is on track to provide 5 per cent of UBC’s annual electricity consumption and reduce UBC’s electrical demand by 2MWe.
UBC’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) has a 25-kilowatt peak photovoltaic system located on the fixed external sunshades of the facades and on the roof of the atrium.
A brief description of on-site renewable non-electric energy devices:
UBC’s Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF) (http://energy.ubc.ca/projects/brdf/) is a biomass gasification process that, under Thermal Mode, converts clean waste biomass into syngas that is used as fuel for the boiler to produce steam. The steam generated from the BRDF is connected to UBC’s district energy system and allows for a comparable reduction in steam produced by UBC’s natural gas fueled Powerhouse. Therefore, biomass is now displacing natural gas, whilst delivering the same amount of thermal energy for UBC’s campus heating requirements.
The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) has 9 arrays of rooftop solar collectors that absorb heat from the sun which is transferred to the building’s domestic hot water preheat tank.
A brief description of off-site, institution-catalyzed, renewable electricity generating devices:
N/A
A brief description of the RECs and/or similar renewable energy products:
N/A
The website URL where information about the institution's renewable energy sources is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The UBC Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF), completed in 2012, is the first demonstration of its kind in the world of a community-scale heat and power system fuelled by biomass. During UBC’s fiscal year 2013/14, the biomass gasification facility produced 15.3 per cent of the steam generated to serve UBC’s core and ancillary services, replacing natural gas at UBC’s main steam plant and reducing UBC’s GHG emissions by 10 per cent from 2007 levels.
Furthermore, BC Hydro, which supplies electricity to the campus, acquires over 20 per cent of its power from renewable sources including wind, run-of-river and biomass plants. Over 75 per cent of BC Hydro's electricity is carbon-free energy generated by hydroelectric facilities. As a result, in their 2014 fiscal year, over 97 per cent of BC Hydro’s electricity generation was from Clean Energy. The environmental attributes are retained by BC Hydro.
The UBC Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF), completed in 2012, is the first demonstration of its kind in the world of a community-scale heat and power system fuelled by biomass. During UBC’s fiscal year 2013/14, the biomass gasification facility produced 15.3 per cent of the steam generated to serve UBC’s core and ancillary services, replacing natural gas at UBC’s main steam plant and reducing UBC’s GHG emissions by 10 per cent from 2007 levels.
Furthermore, BC Hydro, which supplies electricity to the campus, acquires over 20 per cent of its power from renewable sources including wind, run-of-river and biomass plants. Over 75 per cent of BC Hydro's electricity is carbon-free energy generated by hydroelectric facilities. As a result, in their 2014 fiscal year, over 97 per cent of BC Hydro’s electricity generation was from Clean Energy. The environmental attributes are retained by BC Hydro.
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.