| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.09 |
| Liaison | Jennifer Andrews |
| Submission Date | Aug. 16, 2021 |
University of New Hampshire
OP-6: Clean and Renewable Energy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.61 / 4.00 |
Jennifer
Andrews Project Director Sustainability Institute |
Total energy consumption, performance year:
Clean and renewable electricity (report kilowatt-hours):
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity from certified/verified clean and renewable sources (i.e., bundled green power purchases) | 0 Kilowatt-hours | 0 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:
While we contract with several small community hydropower providers for our purchased electricity (see https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/08/artisanal-energy), we do not own the RECs associated with this power so do not claim it above.
A brief description of the on-site renewable electricity generating facilities/devices:
Likewise, We have a campus co-generation plant, powered largely by landfill gas, which supplies the vast majority of our electric needs. However, we sell the RECs associated with the production of this power, so claim 0.
Clean and renewable thermal energy (report MMBtu):
| MMBtu | |
| Clean and renewable stationary fuels used on-site to generate thermal energy | 401,711.35 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:
As mentioned above, EcoLine, a landfill gas pipeline constructed by NH in partnership with Waste Management, is the primary fuel source for the on-campus COGEN plant for heating, cooling and electricity.
UNH sells REC's for the electricity generated off our EcoLine landfill gas pipeline into our cogeneration plan - but retain the rights to the environmental attributes of the thermal energy generated.
https://www.unh.edu/sustainability/campus-initiatives/energy
We also have a small solar thermal installation on campus.
Our award-winning Northwest Heating Plant uses dry wood-chips sourced in the region--though it is not included in the figures noted above since we can not confirm FSC certification for all of our wood chip vendors.
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable thermal energy:
Unbundled renewable energy products (report kWh):
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Purchased RECs, GOs, I-RECs or equivalent unbundled renewable energy products certified by a third party | 69,871,000 Kilowatt-hours | 238,399.85 MMBtu |
A brief description of the unbundled renewable energy products:
Green e Certified Wind Renewable Energy Certificates from 3Degrees Group. 69,871 RECs. Green e Reporting Year 2019
We purchased 69,871 MWh because that was equal to our previous year's total electricity demand on campus (both the electricity we purchased and the electricity we generated on-site, and we wanted to ensure that we could legitimately state that 100% of our electricity use is renewable.)
Total clean and renewable energy generated or purchased:
Percentage of total energy consumption from clean and renewable sources:
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for clean and renewable energy is available:
Electricity use, by source (percentage of total, 0-100):
| Percentage of total electricity use (0-100) | |
| Biomass | --- |
| Coal | --- |
| Geothermal | --- |
| Hydro | --- |
| Natural gas | --- |
| Nuclear | --- |
| Solar photovoltaic | --- |
| Wind | 100 |
| Other (please specify and explain below) | --- |
A brief description of other sources of electricity not specified above:
UNH is powering its campus with enriched and purified natural gas, courtesy of the local landfill, meaning that every bit of trash that ends up there ends up powering the university (Durham) while lowering energy costs and decreasing environmental impact. UNH sells Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from this project and reinvests part of the proceeds back into energy efficiency initiatives on campus. As such, we cannot claim the renewable benefits associated with on-campus electricity production. To counter this, and to further support the development of renewable energy technologies and markets in the US we purchase Green Certified Renewable Energy Credits. Our generation mix indicated above, then, is based on that REC purchase.
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:
Based on the energy allocations used for our GHG inventory (which are themselves based on best practice guidance from the EPA Climate Leaders program), roughly 60% of the energy used to power our co-generation plant is allocated to thermal energy production and 40% is allocated to electricity production. Since, as noted above, we retain the thermal renewable energy credits associated with our use of local landflll gas, the figure above under "Option 2" includes the renewable thermal energy we utilize from the Ecoline pipeline (401,151 MMBTU in FY 2019); it also includes our solar thermal installations (560 MMBTU in FY 2019).
Based on the energy allocations used for our GHG inventory (which are themselves based on best practice guidance from the EPA Climate Leaders program), roughly 60% of the energy used to power our co-generation plant is allocated to thermal energy production and 40% is allocated to electricity production. Since, as noted above, we retain the thermal renewable energy credits associated with our use of local landflll gas, the figure above under "Option 2" includes the renewable thermal energy we utilize from the Ecoline pipeline (401,151 MMBTU in FY 2019); it also includes our solar thermal installations (560 MMBTU in FY 2019).
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.