Weber State University
IN-40: Sustainability Projects Fund

In 2010, Weber State University created a $5 million revolving loan fund to finance energy efficiency projects, water conservation projects, and renewable energy projects. Money is borrowed from this fund to finance projects and then the projects are paid off with utility savings plus 3% interest. To date, WSU has saved over $23.7 million in avoided utility costs due to projects implemented using this fund.

In 2012, WSU hired E/S3 Consultants Inc. to create a long-term plan detailing how the University would achieve its carbon neutrality goal. A group of faculty, staff, and students across campus were pulled together by E/S3 Consultants to help develop the plan. This plan identifies the projects that will be implemented over the years until WSU achieves its 2040 carbon neutral goal. The plan can be viewed here - https://www.weber.edu/sustainability/esip-plan.html Specific projects are identified by the Capital Improvement Projects team which meets monthly to identify needed improvements and then annually to vote on which projects will get funded. This fund has financed multiple energy efficiency projects, solar projects, ground source projects, and the conversion of our buildings over to variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems which are all-electric heat pump HVAC systems. A list of completed projects financed by the revolving loan fund can be found in our annual climate report located here - https://weber.edu/sustainability/reports.html