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RITY:
PITT PLAN FOR CLIMATE ACTION
CLEAN SUPPLY
As we reduce energy demand (thus reducing the carbon required to energize our campus), we have to simultaneously focus on cleaning our energy sources. As illustrated in Figure 11 (Pitt’s Energy Use Sankey Diagram), cleaning our supply focuses on electricity and thermal sources (i.e., district steam and chilled water). There are 4 strategies in this area: district energy infrastructure efficiencies, cleaning of the electricity grid, existing local renewables purchasing agreements, and future renewables generation and procurement. Combined, these 4 approaches offer the potential to avoid 74,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MT CO2e) – or 42.3% of our path toward carbon neutrality by 2037. NEW BUILDING PERFORMANCE
DISTRICT ENERGY EFFICIENCY
2,000
DEMAND CTIONS
14,700 14,700
ELECTRICITY GRID SHIFTS
28,000 28,000
PRIORITY:
CLEAN SUPPLY 53,500 53,500
Figure 22. Clean Supply Strategies (MT CO2e Avoided)
14,700 MT CO2e Avoided
As illustrated in Figure 11, the University owns, co-owns, and cooperatively owns district thermal systems that create both chilled water and steam. Chilled Water: Given the age of Pitt’s chilled water systems, system upgrades are expected and included in this “District Energy Efficiency” strategy section. Once implemented, upgrades to an existing campus chilled water plant are expected to avoid 2,800 MT CO2e annually; a new upper campus plant will also be extremely efficient (though costs are not included here because they are already part of the campus master plan).
FUTURE ELECTRICAL GENERATION AND PROCUREMENT
3,700 3,700
6.2%
4) DISTRICT ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Because the University’s chilled water is generated by electricity, current use consumption is included in the “Existing Building Efficiency” strategy section and the source of that electricity is covered below in electricity procurement.
EXISTING LOCAL RENEWABLES AGREEMENTS
E
TO 28 UTRALITY BY 2037
HOME
Because Pitt’s campus steam is created by natural gas, it represents a potential opportunity for reducing carbon emissions leading up to 2037. Campus-wide energy demand reductions are included in the “Existing Building Efficiency” category. Upgrades to existing campus steam infrastructure over the next 5 years are included in this PittCAP, including steam system and trap upgrades. The consideration of combined heat and power (CHP) at either facility is not included in current projections, but will be investigated. However, since our steam network connects many Pitt buildings and our neighbors, progress toward low carbon sources for steam generation is complicated, must be collaborative, and potentially expensive upfront. In this regard, Pitt is partnered with the City of Pittsburgh, Green Building Alliance, and the other institutional owners of our district steam systems in developing an Oakland Energy Master Plan; this strategy will fully consider the opportunity for these systems to support continued GHG emissions reduction, improve environmental quality, and increase resiliency. While not in the emissions reductions or costs below, these future opportunities and decisions are predicated here – and expected to advance over the next 5 years so that when we update this document the district steam opportunities will be more fully incorporated.
District Steam: As shown in Figure 11, Pitt’s campus uses a significant amount of locally generated steam for thermal heating. Generating and using steam locally has many benefits, including energy resilience, reduced equipment needs at the building scale, and reduced losses from distribution. While universities CAFE and municipalities across the United States have chosen STANDARDS AVOIDED COMMUTER district steam for these reasons, most generate their COMMUTES MODE TRAVEL VIA FLEX TRAVEL steam from fossil fuels –AIRand Pitt isAIRno different. In CHOICES LEADING THE OFFSET WORK REDUCTIONS Building Electrification: This refers to shifting all 2009, the cooperatively owned Bellefield PlantTO CLIMATE 16,400 POLICY Boiler WAY 3,700 building energy sources to electricity by eliminating the 4,100 NEUTRAL fully transitioned from coal to natural gas, significantly E 3,400 on-site combustion of fossil fuels for cooking; heating, reducing Pitt’s GHG emissions from steam from this PRIORITY: cooling, and ventilation, back-up generation, and CAMPUS facility. Concurrently, Carrillo Street Steam Plant LOW CARBON EDUCATION & CARBON (co-owned with UPMC) came online, poweredBEHAVIOR by natural process use. Moving beyond steam is a multidecadal INSETS & CONNECTIONS decision simultaneously linked to electrification of SHIFTS gas. Today, the Bellefield and Carrillo steam plants both OFFSETS new and/or existing buildings. Pitt has in the past 45,800 serve Pitt, UPMC, and other Oakland buildings tied into a 2,200 and is committed to continuing to explore building cooperative commercial district steam network. electrification on a project-by-project basis.
E = External shifts causing
indirect GHG reductions
= Carbon Reductions to be Procured
33,600
University of Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan
