Energy Savings


Sustainability

Charge Up Your EV Infrastructure: Funding to Electrify the Campus

The Electric Vehicle (EV) revolution is upon us. A recent analysis by EY found that EV sales will outpace all other engines three years sooner than expected. This demand will be further driven by the Inflation Reduction Act with new incentives to encourage domestic EV production and ownership. Campuses need to be ready with convenient access to fast and reliable charging stations to support students, staff, guests, and electrified fleets.

Sustainability

Iowa State University Finishes Construction of On-Campus Solar Farm

Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, recently gained a new 1,375-MW solar farm on its campus through a partnership with Alliant Energy, according to a news release. Alliant installed 3,300 solar panels on campus that will generate energy and provide opportunities for education, agriculture research, and more.

Schools In Focus: Talking Campus Security with Mitch McKinley

Podcast

Schools In Focus: You Can't Build Your Way to Net Zero

This episode’s guest is Lori Ferriss, architect with the Boston firm Goody Clancy and Chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment. We’ll discuss how colleges and universities can’t just build their way to net zero in the quest for carbon neutrality—it’s impossible to achieve carbon neutrality without reducing the operational emissions of existing buildings.

Sustainability

California District’s Solar Portfolio Wins Environment + Energy Leader Award

A 5.67 MW Solar Portfolio by DSD Renewables that is currently in use by the San Bernardino City Unified School District in California recently won the Top Project of the Year Award in the 2023 Environment + Energy Leader Awards program, according to a news release.

Sustainability

Net Zero Design for Schools to Combat Rising Energy Costs

Achieving net zero is not an easy feat. The current state of educational institutions is more aptly described as approaching net zero.

Sustainability

University of California Signs Wind-Energy Contract

Local news reports that a renewable energy powerline in New Mexico recently received federal approval. The wind farm has already signed contracts with its first two customers—including the University of California, according to the Carlsbad Current Argus.

Sustainability

ABM Offers $3.7M in Energy Savings to Georgia School District

Facility solutions provider ABM recently announced that it will be partnering with the Dooly County School System in Vienna, Ga., to form an Energy Performance Contracting program. The program will save the school district about $3.7 million in energy and operating cost savings over the next 20 years, according to a press release.

Sustainability

University of Pittsburgh to Build 20MW Solar Farm

The University of Pittsburgh recently began construction on a 20-megawatt solar farm that, once complete, will provide 100 percent of its electricity to the campus for the next twenty years, according to a university news release.

Sustainability

Virginia School District Set to Save $3.1M in Energy, Operating Costs

Fredericksburg City Public Schools in Fredericksburg, Va., recently partnered with facility solutions provider ABM on the creation of an Energy Performance Contracting program. The solution will save the district an estimated $3.1 million in energy and operating costs over the next fifteen years, according to a news release.

Campus Sustainability

Twenty North Carolina Schools Receive Solar Educational Package

Nonprofit organization NC GreenPower recently announced the recipients of its 2022 Solar+ Schools grant program. The program provides K–12 schools across North Carolina with the funds to establish a 5-kW solar energy system on campus, according to a news release.



Campus Lighting

Brightline Debuts Fluorescent-to-LED Conversion Kit

Video lighting systems solutions provider Brightline recently announced the debut of a retrofit package that lets users upgrade Brightline S1.2 or S1.4 fluorescent studio fixtures to LED fixtures.

School Bus

Transportation

How School Districts Can Use Unprecedented Federal Funding to Transition to Electric Buses

Amid economic concerns like rising gas prices and inflation impacting American communities and resources, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is bringing a bright spot to school districts across the country. The agency recently announced a new $5 billion fund, available immediately, to purchase clean school bus fleets and lessen reliance on diesel fuel.

Campus Transportation

Los Angeles District Awards $400M Student Transportation Contract

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) recently announced that it has awarded a $400-million transportation contract with student transportation company Zum.

Campus Sustainability

Indiana High School Installs Solar Farm

Shakamak High School in Jasonville, Ind., recently installed a solar farm that is projected to save the school more than $1 million across the next 12 years, according to local news.

Campus Transportation

Zum Debuts Electric School Buses in Two Calif. Districts

Modern student transportation solutions company Zum announced recently that it has deployed its first batch of electric school buses. The six LionC electric school buses, manufactured by Lion Electric, are already serving students in the San Francisco Unified School District and the Oakland Unified School District, according to a press release.

Campus Sustainability

Howard University to Develop Five-Year Sustainability Plan

Howard University in Washington, D.C., recently announced that it will be partnering with VEIC and CustomerFirst Renewables to develop a five-year campus Sustainability Plan.

Georgia Tech Energy Infrastructure Upgrade

Campus Sustainability

Energy Infrastructure Upgrade to Save Georgia Tech $11.7M

Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., recently partnered with facility energy solutions provider ABM Industries to upgrade campus STEM labs—and save about $11.7 million across ten years in the process.

Transportation

GreenPower Unveils Plan to Manufacture All Electric School Buses in West Virginia

Electric vehicle manufacturer GreenPower Motor Company signed an agreement last week with the state of West Virginia to begin producing zero-emission, all-electric school buses in a new manufacturing facility,

Campus Amenities

U Alabama Trying Out Solar-Powered Pods

Shortly, the campus of the University of Alabama will sport a set of small, greenhouse-like structures where students can have private, socially-distanced space for their studies or relaxation.

Campus Sustainability

Winona State University Begins $12.3M Sustainability Project

Winona State University in Winona, Minn., announced this week that it is partnering with construction and energy services firm McKinstry for a $12.3-million sustainability and solar energy project.

Campus Sustainability

Schneider, S.C. District Partner to Push Net Zero Energy Initiative

Schneider Electric recently announced that it is partnering with the Richland County School District One (Richland One) in Columbia, S.C., to help the district meet its goal of Net Zero energy consumption.

Honeywell Cambrian College Energy Agreement

Campus Sustainability

Cambrian College to Save $480K in Energy-Related Upgrades

Ontario-based Cambrian College is moving into the next phase of a long-term agreement with Honeywell and Honeywell Building Technologies to replace aging equipment and update lighting in pursuit of energy savings. The improvements are expected to save the college at least $480,000 within the first year.

Meeker High School exterior

Meeker High School Addition and Renovation

Project of Distinction Award 2021 Education Design Showcase

Irma Marsh Middle School exterior

Irma Marsh Middle School

Project of Distinction Award 2021 Education Design Showcase

Kreher Agriculture Center exterior

Kreher Agriculture Center

Grand Prize 2021 Education Design Showcase

Discovery High School exterior

Discovery High School

Grand Prize 2021 Education Design Showcase

Campus Sustainability

Washington, D.C., Debuts Two Net-Zero-Energy Schools

Design firm Perkins Eastman recently announced the opening of the first two net-zero-energy schools in Washington, D.C. Ribbon-cutting ceremonies for both schools—Banneker Academic High School and West/John Lewis Elementary School—took place in the last week of August.

Campus Sustainability

CSU Pueblo Announces Net-Zero Efficiency with Completion of Solar Array

Colorado State University Pueblo in Pueblo, Colo., recently announced that it has become the first university in the state to achieve net-zero efficiency.

John Quincy Upper School Rendering

New Construction

HMFH Architects Unveils Design for Boston High-Rise Public School

The city of Boston, Mass., will soon be getting a new public school. HMFH Architects announced this week that it is putting finishing touches on the design for Josiah Quincy Upper School (JQUS), which will stand in a one-acre lot in the city’s “dense and diverse Chinatown neighborhood,” according to a news release.

Sgt. Jordan Shay Memorial Lower Elementary School

New Construction

Mass. Town Breaks Ground on $60M Elementary

Groundbreaking has taken place on a new elementary school in Amesbury, Mass. Construction of the Sgt. Jordan Shay Memorial Lower Elementary School was approved by city residents in 2019.