| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.91 |
| Liaison | Elizabeth MacKenzie |
| Submission Date | June 25, 2024 |
University of Iowa
OP-6: Clean and Renewable Energy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.78 / 4.00 |
Emma
Duncan Grad Student Intern Office of Sustainability and the Environment |
Total energy consumption (electric and non-electric)
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) | 292,776,905.80 Kilowatt-hours | 998,954.80 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site, clean and renewable sources (rights retained/retired) | 28,290,969.56 Kilowatt-hours | 96,528.79 MMBtu |
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable electricity:
Imported electricity from MidAmerican is certified wind generated with retired RECs (RECs held by and retired on behalf of the University of Iowa). Imported electrictiy from Alliant Energy is 52.7% renewable. Total imported electric is the sum of these numbers (284,472,229+(0.527*15758400) = 292,776,905.8
A brief description of the on-site renewable electricity generating facilities/devices:
The University of Iowa has operated a combined heat and power plant since 1926. The University of Iowa uses traditional feedstock and biomass to generate steam for cost-effective electricity, cooling and water treatment on campus. In 2003, the UI Power Plant pioneered a unique and innovative source of fuel, oat hulls, through a partnership with Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Oat hulls provide an economical, environmentally friendly source of fuel. The hulls are a by-product of the cereal-making process at Quaker. They are trucked to the Power Plant and co-fired with coal in the circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler. There is also a small amount of solar on-site.
110487.79 KWH on-site solar + (46.83% cogen electricity from renewable fuel * total co-gen of 60,410,000kWH) = 28,290,969.56 (electricity from on-site, clean and renewable sources)
Because the State of Iowa does not maintain a certification process, UI voluntarily adheres to Wisconsin standard for classifying fuels since the fuel pellets currently originate in Wisconsin. https://psc.wi.gov/Pages/ServiceType/Energy/Renewables/RpsEligibleTech.aspx
- Densified fuel pellets made from waste material that does not include garbage, as defined in s. 289.01 (9), and that contains no more than 30 percent fixed carbon
- Biomass
UI uses biomass that is a factory by-product, not an energy crop (oat hulls) and waste-to-energy/landfill diversion technologies (engineered fuel pellets) that is not actually considered “waste” by the EPA/IDNR because it is pre-consumer, controlled factory-by-products. Presentations have been given both inside and outside of the UI community on the fuels program and have always been well-recieved. Local environmental organizations including Iowa Environmental Council, 100 Grannies, Iowa City Climate Strikers, and others were all consulted.
The University of Iowa is also #2 on EPA's Green Power Partnership Top 30 College & University list. https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-partnership-top-30-college-university
"The UI has implemented an innovative and sustainable strategy to transition off coal while focusing on providing reliable energy to the campus, research facilities, and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. This strategy includes growing a portfolio of locally sourced biomass including partnering with local famers to develop a miscanthus energy crop."
110487.79 KWH on-site solar + (46.83% cogen electricity from renewable fuel * total co-gen of 60,410,000kWH) = 28,290,969.56 (electricity from on-site, clean and renewable sources)
Clean and renewable thermal energy
| MMBtu | |
| Clean and renewable stationary fuels used on-site to generate thermal energy | 613,436 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:
Oat hulls (228950 MMBTU) and energy pellets (384486 MMBTU) were burned in the University Power Plant on Main Campus. Energy pellets are a mix of miscanthus and pre-consumer waste.
https://psc.wi.gov/Pages/ServiceType/Energy/Renewables/RpsEligibleTech.aspx
- Densified fuel pellets made from waste material that does not include garbage, as defined in s. 289.01 (9), and that contains no more than 30 percent fixed carbon
- Biomass
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable thermal energy:
Our award-winning biomass program using oat hulls, miscanthus, and energy pellets; central heating and cooling system; along with our innovative P3 partnership with ENGIE makes the University of Iowa one of the most unique campus utility programs in the country. The UI has implemented an innovative and sustainable strategy to transition off coal while focusing on providing reliable energy to the campus, research facilities, and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. This strategy includes growing a portfolio of locally sourced biomass including partnering with local farmers to develop a miscanthus energy crop.
https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-partnership-top-30-college-university
Unbundled renewable energy products
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Purchased RECs, GOs, I-RECs or equivalent unbundled renewable energy products certified by a third party | 0 Kilowatt-hours | 0 MMBtu |
A brief description of the unbundled renewable energy products:
Metrics used in scoring
Percentage of total energy consumption from clean and renewable sources:
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 | 26.27 |
| Coal | 22.54 |
| Geothermal | 0 |
| Hydro | 0 |
| Natural gas | 8.38 |
| Nuclear | 0 |
| Solar photovoltaic | 0 |
| Wind | 42.79 |
| Other (please specify and explain below) | 0 |
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 | --- |
| Natural gas | --- |
| 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.