Energy Goals
GOAL: Energy Efficiency--reduce energy use intensity by 2% annually.
STATUS: In progress
GOAL: On-campus renewable electricity--add 2.5 MW of solar.
STATUS: In progress
GOAL: Off-campus clean electricity--by 2025 procure 100% clean electricity.
STATUS: In progress
GOAL: On-campus combustion--by 2025 40% of natural gas will be replaced by biogas.
STATUS: In progress
Campus Performance Overview
In 2018, the UC Sustainability Practices Policy added the additional clean energy goals outlined above. These new goals are focused on supporting the carbon neutrality goal by both reducing demand and adding renewable energy. The following are some of our energy related accomplishments to date, these will be amplified going forward.
- Since 2008 Berkeley has implemented energy efficiency measures that have reduced carbon emission by 15,000 tons and saved millions of dollars.
- Energy intensity per square foot has been reduced by 15% since 1990, while actual building space has grown 27%.
- 137 campus buildings have real-time energy use dashboards to visualize cumulative impact of individual energy savings and identify anomalies and malfunctions quickly.
- On-site solar power is located at six campus locations and more on-site solar installations are in planning.
STARS Performance Overview
Energy Category
According to STARS, "This subcategory seeks to recognize institutions that are reducing their energy consumption through conservation and efficiency, and switching to cleaner and renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, geothermal, and low-impact hydropower. For most institutions, energy consumption is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global climate change."
Berkeley's STARS Performance
Total Points Available: 10.00
Energy Points Claimed: 2.97
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The campus won almost 30% of available points in the energy category, compared to 36.34% of points won by all research and doctoral institutions.
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The Energy Office is examining ways to reduce building energy consumption and campus planners are examining how to install more renewable energy generation on a dense urban campus with many historic buildings. The campus is looking in the short-term to add solar PV on campus but available space for such systems will only offset less than 1% of the power needs of the research intensive campus.
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The campus is in the process of retrofitting most campus buildings with LED lighting fixtures. The campus-wide LED conversion project is working through each building on campus, replacing end-of-life T8 fluorescent lighting with LED technology. In 2019, two large Chemistry lab buildings with complex, sensitive work spaces were completed. The new LED lighting has an expected lifetime of 70,000 hours and saves $50,000 annually.
Research
Check out Dan Kammen’s presentation: “How do we bring together new technologies with best policy practices to help electrify the developing world?”
Take Action!
Want to learn more about how you can help us save energy? The campus Energy Office is working on a whole host of energy conservation and efficiency projects to achieve a at least 2% reduction in Energy Use Intensity each year. Check out these energy saving tips for creative ways to save energy in your lab, office, or residence hall.