UPDATE

Middlebury College Building and Grounds Committee

October 16, 2009
Jack Byrne, Sustainability Integration Office
• May 2007: Carbon Neutrality by 2016 and signed American College
and University Presidents Climate Commitment
• May 2008: Climate Action Plan
• September 2008 Implementation Teams Appointed
 Three teams working on
implementing our plan with
urgency and deliberation

Festina Lente
(Hasten
Slowly)

http://www.davidrenka.com/LeOpere/Rilievi/FestinaLe
 Measurement and Reporting - Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Middlebury College Greenhouse Gas

Inventory (08-09 is draft)
  Metric Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalents

• 9.7% reduction in CO2 Scopes FY05/06 FY06/07 FY07/08 FY08/09

emissions in FY 09 - due Scope 1 - Stationary      
Combustion
primarily to start up of #6 Oil 23,371.9 23,876.4 25,145.3 22,365.6
biomass mid year #2/Diesel 1,638.5 2,026.3 1,843.6 1,890.8
Propane 548.3 711.9 655.2 643.2
Percent of 87.1% 91.4% 87.8% 87.2%
• Will achieve a greater Total
reduction ≈(40%) in FY 09-10 Scope 1 - Mobile      
Combustion
with a full year of post- Gas 258.9 283.0 278.1 322.5
start-up operation Diesel 85.3 123.2 138.8 148.5
Percent of 1.2% 1.4% 1.3% 1.6%
Total
• Need to set interim targets Scope 2 - Purchased      
Electricity
for FY 2012 and FY 2014 Electricity 1,034.4 648.6 999.8 921.8
Percent of 3.5% 2.2% 3.2% 3.2%
Total
Scope 3        
Employee Travel 2,301.9 2,147.3 2,751.4 2,591.3
Landfill CH4 125.2 137.3 306.8 267.2
Offsets -36.0 -839.2 -557.1 -639.1
Percent of total 8.2% 5.0% 7.7% 7.9%
 Carbon Neutrality and Master Plan
Implementation
The million gallon question:
• Biomass II?
• Biomass energy district?
• Farm biomethane?

Multi-faceted approach – how

to replace the remaining
1,000,000 gal. of
#6 oil with a renewable,
carbon neutral source
Criteria for filtering projects:
• Cost-effective and economic
• Carbon reduction & environmental benefits
• Regional and local economic benefits
• Proven technology and practices
• Reasonable risk and acceptable
 Biomass Energy District?
• College partnership with Town and
Porter Medical Center
• College staff playing lead roles

• Feasibility of:
- ecological supply of biomass from
farm and forests
- switch to biomass heat and power
- biomass purchasing Co-op
- community renewable energy fund

• $250,000 support from Senator

Leahy to fund studies and plan

• Strong interest and support from

Senator Sanders

• May help us solve the offsets challenge

Biomethane from Addison Dairy Farms?
 Electricity from Solar Photovoltaics?

New Vermont legislation established

a feed-in tariff for new installations of
renewable energy generation

≈10 acres of College land for PV panels

to provide ≈10% of our electricity
for 25 years?

Solar electricity would go into grid, not

into College grid
 Efficiency Improvements 2009
(with Efficiency Vermont)
• Total cost of four projects: $159, 320
• Annual cost savings: $104,410 (includes savings
due to
electricity and heating efficiency improvements)
• 2010: CFA HVAC, Service Bldg. air systems and
pumps, virtual IT

ew design and construction guidelines require LEED Silver

inimum performance – new and renovated space should be
esigned for minimal energy consumption, e.g. Franklin Env. C
 Community Engagement and
Leadership
werStrip: How much can you take off?
tudent electricity conservation
ompetition
verage kWh savings over a 2 week
eriod by 75 students: 50%
Winning team achieved an 88% savings
xpanding at and beyond College through
artnershship w/ Efficiency Vermont
nd Vermont Community Foundation
 Community Engagement and
Leadership

now Your Thermo-stats campaign:

Change behavior during summer:
Turn it off when not in use
Change behavior in winter:
Turn down your thermostat, keep
the windows closed and turn it off
when not in use
More campaigns in the works
http://buildingdashboard.com/clients/middlebury/franklin/