University of Maryland, College Park
OP-8: Clean and Renewable Energy

A 5.25 kW photovoltaic solar array was installed on the roof of the Cole Student Activities Building in 2009. A 631 kW photovoltaic solar array was install on the roof of the Severn Building in 2011. The Severn array was installed after UMD was selected as a Maryland Energy Administration Project Sunburst Initiative Partner and awarded a grant aimed at promoting the installation of renewable energy systems on public buildings in Maryland. WGES financed the remainder of the Severn project cost and UMD purchases the electricity generated by the solar panels under a 20-year agreement with WGES.

Solar hot water panels installed at Ellicott Dining Hall in early 2010 provide about 30 percent of the energy needed to pre-heat domestic water for “the Diner.” The system includes 20 panels with 3 solar storage tanks, pumps, temperature sensors, and controls. The University has also begun to install geothermal heat-pump systems in some of its newest buildings as of 2012.

In 2010, the University System of Maryland (USM) and the Department of General Services executed three (3), twenty year Power Purchase Agreements for renewable energy. The projects are: • 16 megawatt solar project at Mount St. Mary's University • 10 mega watt wind project in western Maryland • 55 megawatt wind project in West Virginia USM receives 1/3 of the output from each project, which equates to approximately 15 percent of our total energy use. This equates to the University of Maryland receiving 15 percent of its purchased electricity from renewable sources. The Maryland wind project, Roth Rock Wind Farm, became operational in 2011, and the Pinnacle Project (West Virginia) and the solar project at Mount St. Mary’s became operational in 2012. USM retains the renewable energy credits (RECs) for all of the purchased energy.

1328 Green-e certified RECs were purchased in 2012 to help with LEED compliance for new construction.

The recipient of the EPA’s 2005 Energy Star Award, the University’s Combined Heat and Power Plant was completed in 2003. The system produces all of the steam required for heating and in some cases cooling for the University. The plant is capable of producing up to 90 percent of the University’s electric demand in the winter and around 50 percent of the summer demand. Consisting of two gas-fired combustion turbines, one steam-driven electric turbine, and two heat recovery steam generators, the system operates at efficiencies of around 70 percent, significantly higher than like-sized independent steam boilers and electric generators. The system requires approximately 16 percent less fuel than typical purchased electricity with separate steam generation, resulting in a reduction of nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide, and roughly 53,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.