Energy Systems
Energy is used to power, heat, and cool our buildings and campus. In FY19, this category accounted for 60.3% of our GHG emissions, with purchased electricity representing 34.2% .
For electricity, even as the University’s electric power procurement and generation sources shift toward carbon free sources, we remain reliant upon regional electricity created from fossil fuels.
Energy sources controlled by the University are the Carillo Street Steam Plant and the Bellefield Boiler Plant. Steam is a major component of the campus energy mix– and is created by natural gas.
Steam
In FY20, steam was 49% of campus-wide energy use. Steam is an effective thermal heating mechanism generated both on- and near-campus at the Pitt-owned Carrillo Street Steam Plant and the cooperatively owned Bellefield Boiler Plant.
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 and municipalities across the United States have chosen district steam for these reasons, most generate their steam from fossil fuels – and Pitt is no different. Because Pitt’s campus steam is created by natural gas, it represents a potential opportunity for reducing carbon emissions leading up to 2037.
Learn more about Pitt’s steam usage and future strategies in the 2022 Pitt Climate Action Plan.
Using alternative energy sources for steam generation is a significant challenge and the cooperative ownership of our steam plants means that Pitt cannot act unilaterally. As a result, Pitt is partnered with the City of Pittsburgh, Green Building Alliance, and the other institutional owners of our district steam systems to develop an Oakland Energy Master Plan that fully considers the full opportunity for these systems to support continued GHG emissions reduction, improve environmental quality, and increase resiliency.
Carillo Street Steam Plant
Co-owned by the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, the Carrillo Street Steam Plant came online in 2009 and is powered by natural gas. The steam it produces is used for used for heat, hot water, sterilization, and humidity control. The Carrillo Street Steam Plant is a significant part of the University’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
When it was constructed, the facility was (and remains) one of the cleanest university heating plants in the United States, emitting relatively little exhaust or wastewater for a facility its size. It was originally expected to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by ~48,000 metric tons (nearly half of Pitt’s baseline steam-related CO2 emissions).
Today, both the Carrillo and Bellefield steam plants serve Pitt, UPMC, and other Oakland buildings tied into a cooperative commercial district steam network.
Read more about Carrillo Steam Plant in this 2011 Pitt Chronicle article.
Bellefield Boiler Plant
Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (indirect) tend to be the largest category for universities, (including Pitt). Alongside purchased electricity, Pitt’s Scope 2 GHG emissions include thermal steam energy from the Bellefield Boiler Plant.
Bellefield Boiler Plant is a cooperatively owned thermal steam generation plant originally built in 1907 to serve the Carnegie Library and Museums. Nestled on Boundary Street between the Carnegie Library Main Branch and Carnegie Mellon Univesrity (below Schenley Drive bridge), today Bellefield provides steam heat for the Carnegie Mellon University, the Carnegie Library and Museums, Phipps Conservatory, the University of Pittsburgh, and UPMC’s hospitals in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
In 2009, Bellefield fully transitioned from coal to natural gas, significantly reducing Pitt’s GHG emissions from steam from this facility.
- 2020 Pitt News article on Bellefield Boiler Plant
- Secret Pittsburgh on Bellefield Boiler Plant “The Cloud Factory”
Chilled Water Plants
The University of Pittsburgh has several chilled water facilities, including in Posvar Hall and a new Upper Campus Chiller Plant (under construction and will provide cooling capacity of 7,500 tons and the ability to expand to 15,000 tons).
Given the age of Pitt’s chilled water systems, system upgrades are expected and included in the “District Energy Efficiency” section of the 2022 Pitt Climate Action Plan. Once implemented, upgrades to the existing Posvar chilled water plant are expected to avoid 2,800 MT CO2e annually; the new upper campus plant will also be extremely efficient.
Both chilled water facilities will be connected to a campus-wide stormwater reuse system that will capture stormwater and send it to chilled water plants for reuse.
Because the University’s chilled water is generated by electricity, its carbon footprint is covered by Pitt’s steps to to choose more renewable and low carbon electricity sources.
On-Site Renewables
Since the mid-2010s, the University has had small on-site solar arrays for student research atop Benedum Hall on the Pittsburgh campus and at Pitt-Bradford. In addition, the Pitt Energy GRID Institute has a new solar array for Electric Power Technologies Laboratory research at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh’s Crawford-Roberts neighborhood. Learn more
First released in 2021, the Building Energy Use Intensity Dashboard below showcases Pitt’s building energy use intensity and performance at both the building and Pittsburgh campus scales, while simultaneously selecting variable time frames through which to review data and results.
Contextual baselines and goals are also provided campus-wide and for each building, reflecting Pitt’s commitment to goals of 50% reductions in energy use intensity (consumption per square foot) by 2030 (below 2003 national baselines for energy and a more recent regional baseline for water). These two goals were codified again in the 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan and 2022 Pitt Climate Action Plan.
Renewable Energy
Purchased electricity accounts for about half of the University’s potential GHG emissions — and thus remains a key target for conservation, efficiency, and ongoing source shifts to cleaner options.
Under the Pitt Sustainability Plan, the University is committed to producing or procuring 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% by 2037, to help reach carbon neutrality.
For calendar year 2023, 28.3% of the University’s electricity originated from renewable energy sources. Learn more about 2018-22 progress.
Closing this gap requires a combination of solutions, including on-site renewables, directly purchased renewables, long-term power purchase agreements, and renewable energy certificates (all detailed below).
The University of Pittsburgh is a proud partner of the EPA Green Power Partnership, appearing in the past on the Top 30 College & University list.
On-site Renewables
The University of Pittsburgh has on-site solar installations dating back to 2012 — and is planning for additional future installations. Learn more on the Solar tab.
Renewables in Electricity Retail Contracts
The University of Pittsburgh currently procures ~11% of its electricity as 100% renewables through structured retail contracts that include unbundled RECs. Beginning in 2019, Pitt’s first 100% renewables contract was for a small electricity portfolio that represented ~4% of the University’s annual electricity usage. In mid-2020, Pitt committed another ~7% of its electricity usage to 100% renewables via a separate contract. Current retail contracts (2022-present) include 20% renewables.
Renewable Energy Certificates
In 2009, Pitt began regularly purchasing small amounts of renewable energy certificates (RECs) specific to LEED building certifications. All RECs purchased by Pitt for LEED projects are Green-e certified.
For both FY19 & FY20, the University purchased 32,000 RECs (or 32,000 MWh), equating nearly 14% of Pitt’s annual electricity consumption.
Long-term Power Purchase Agreements
The University of Pittsburgh is publicly committed to two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for local, renewable electricity that will combine to supply 42% of the Pittsburgh campus’s electricity by 2024, keeping the University on track to reach its strategic renewables goal. These PPAs include local:
- Solar – Pitt purchases all of the electricity produced by a 20-megawatt solar power facility just 25 miles from the Pittsburgh campus (on the border of Allegheny and Beaver Counties).
- Hydropower – Pitt is committed to acquiring 25% of its electrical needs from local, run-of-the-river hydropower less than 5 miles from campus on the Allegheny River, starting in 2028 — the equivalent of 50,000 MWh annually (8.4 MW nameplate).
Renewble Electricity Dashboard
Coming soon!
Solar
The University of Pittsburgh’s solar installations and partnerships are both on- and off-site.
Rooftop Solar
The University of Pittsburgh has on-site solar installations dating back to 2012 — and is planning for additional future installations. Current on-site renewable installations on Pitt owned buildings include:
- Benedum Hall (4.32 kW rooftop photovoltaic installation) – Installed in 2012, this array is for research purposes, including 18 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels at different tilts (25 degrees and 45 degrees) and positioned in 3 directions (East, South, and West). It is connected to an Engineering picogrid for research purpose and produces ~4,000 kWh annually on average. Check out real-time generation data of electricity from this array.
- Pitt Bradford’s George P. Duke Engineering & Information Technologies Building (108 kW rooftop solar array) – Installed in 2022, this array has a student-designed dashboard in design and was funded by Met-Ed/Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund. Check out real-time electricity production from this array.
- Pitt Bradford’s McDowell Field House (2.6 kW solar installation) – Installed in 2014, this Northwest Pennsylvania rooftop solar array produces ~2,500 kWh annually.
Additional rooftop solar installations are in design and construction phases for a number of buildings, including (but not limited to):
- Arena & Sports Performance Center
- Bioforge
- Fifth & Halket
- Hillman Library
- Recreation & Wellness Center
- Existing Pittsburgh campus buildings (Coming in 2024)
The following rooftop solar array is on a Pitt occupied buliding:
- Energy GRID Institute (~50 kW rooftop solar array) – Installed in Spring 2020 to serve the Pitt Energy GRID Institute’s Electric Power Technologies Laboratory research (in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District), a leased space in the Energy Innovation Center.
Gaucho Solar (Off-site)
The University of Pittsburgh is committed to producing or procuring at least 50% renewables for its electricity by 2030 and 100% by 2037.
One mechanism for achieving our renewables goal is long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), of which Pitt has two for local, renewable electricity. Combined, these agreements will combine to supply 42% of the Pittsburgh campus’s future electricity use, keeping the University on track to reach its strategic renewables goal.
In the solar space, Pitt is purchasing all of the renewable electricity produced by Vesper’s 20-megawatt Gaucho Solar power facility just 25 miles from the Pittsburgh campus (on the border of Allegheny and Beaver Counties); this 68 acre project became operational in June 2023. It is currently generating ~18% of Pitt’s annual electricity.
Beyond making Pitt’s energy sourcing more sustainable, the proposed solar power facility will be able to be used as a living laboratory for student learning and research.
At Pitt’s request, Vesper is also installing pollinator-friendly landscaping at the site, in line with Pitt’s Sustainable Landscape Design Guidelines.
Interested in learning more? Contact us!
Hydro
The University of Pittsburgh is committed to producing or procuring at least 50% renewables for its electricity by 2030 and 100% by 2037.
One mechanism for achieving this goal is long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), of which Pitt has two for local, renewable electricity that will combine to supply 42% of the Pittsburgh campus’s future electricity use, keeping the University on track to reach its strategic renewables goal.
Rye Development Low-Impact Hydro
Pitt is committed to acquiring 50,000 MWh annually (8.4 MW nameplate) from local, run-of-the-river hydropower less than 5 miles from campus on the Allegheny River, by 2028 — the equivalent of ~25% of the University’s annual electricity use.
Pitt students and faculty can also partner with the hydropower facility for research and learning opportunities.
Interested in learning more? Contact us!
