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CU Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz today announced several actions to further establish CU Boulder as a global leader in sustainability. The campus will hire a vice chancellor for sustainability, a new position created to lead the university’s efforts to combine strides in academic and operational sustainability. Schwartz also announced a new solar agreement and promised millions of tax credit dollars will be invested into accelerating campus decarbonization efforts.

The vice chancellor for sustainability position will shepherd the campus in augmenting the university’s established leadership in climate science research, further incorporating sustainability into the curriculum, meeting the goals outlined in the university’s 2024 Climate Action Plan, and utilizing the campus as a living-learning laboratory where innovative research and advancements can be tested and put into practice. 

“Intertwining operations, education and research is the next step in CU Boulder’s vision for creating global impact in the climate science space and living our values through achievement of our Climate Action Plan goals,” Schwartz said.

A national search will be launched for the position.

In addition to the new vice chancellor role, Schwartz also announced two immediate steps being taken to advance the university’s decarbonization efforts in support of strategies outlined in the campus’s recently updated Climate Action Plan:

• A virtual net metering agreement with Denver-based Pivot Energy that will add 5 megawatts of new solar energy production to the local grid
• A commitment of all Inflation Reduction Act tax credit savings from the forthcoming equipment upgrades at the West District Energy Plant (currently an estimated $5 million to $7 million) to be invested directly into accelerating campus decarbonization efforts

“The Pivot agreement is an important step for CU Boulder in the sustainability realm,” Schwartz said. “We are pleased to be able to be an inaugural subscriber under the innovative policy passed into law in Colorado to expand Colorado’s solar resources and demonstrate continued leadership in the energy transition. Sustainability—in our research, teaching and operations—is one of my top priorities as chancellor, and I am thrilled that this agreement is one of the first big projects I have the pleasure of sharing with our campus community and fellow Coloradans.”

The Pivot deal and tax credit commitment follow other recent actions by CU Boulder to begin implementation of the campus Climate Action Plan, including a pair of grants to conduct feasibility studies on the use of geothermal energy on campus and Board of Regents approval of a 1.1-megawatt East Campus solar array and efficiency projects in 18 aging campus buildings. CU Boulder’s Climate Action Plan calls for a 50% reduction in carbon emissions (from a 2019 baseline) by 2030 and carbon neutrality by no later than 2050.

“We are committed to supporting the energy transition,” Vice Chancellor for Infrastructure and Sustainability Chris Ewing said. “These first Climate Action Plan implementation steps we’re taking are laying the foundation for the progress our campus will make toward achieving our goals in the years to come, which will ideally surpass our current targets.”

Leading campus efforts

The new VC role will lead initiatives aimed at ensuring the achievement of CU Boulder’s climate action goals and educating the next generation of leaders in sustainability.

More specifically, the new vice chancellor will lead all sustainability efforts in collaboration with the university’s executive leadership, faculty, students, staff and external stakeholders, and will build and cultivate national and global partnerships with public and private entities. The vice chancellor will also advance the university’s strategy for collaborative sustainability and resilience research both on campus and with other institutions of higher education. 

The vice chancellor will lead the university’s comprehensive strategic planning, implementation, tracking and fundraising of all sustainability goals and will be the driving contributor behind creating a culture of sustainability and environmentally conscious decision making within the university.

Reinvesting tax credits

The Board of Regents in November approved the replacement of natural-gas fired turbines and installation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) reduction equipment at the West District Energy Plant (WDEP)—work that will begin this year to meet requirements of the available IRA tax credits. The improvements will reduce the plant’s NOx emissions by over 50% versus current operations, ensuring the plant meets new Colorado air permit requirements. 

The WDEP upgrades are necessary to provide vital resiliency that ensures our teaching and research mission—as well as safe living and dining environments for 10,000 on-campus residents—are protected during times of grid outages, major facility upgrades, major equipment failures or other extenuating circumstances. Until Xcel Energy achieves its emissions reduction goals, the equipment will also help reduce campus emissions in comparison to the grid.

Specific details of the decarbonization projects the tax credit savings will support are forthcoming. 

Transitioning toward a clean energy future

CU Boulder is taking advantage of an innovative new program made possible by Colorado Senate Bill 21-261 in 2021 that enables organizations to benefit from the energy produced by offsite solar installations: virtual net metering agreements. 

This month, CU Boulder partnered with Pivot Energy for a 5 megawatt dc (MWdc) virtual net metering agreement to develop an off-site solar array. The project site is on land in Weld County that is jointly leased by Pivot Energy and CU Boulder. CU Boulder will receive bill credits in this virtual net metering system as measured by dedicated building electric meters subscribed to the program that are matched with the amount of electricity produced by the off-site solar project. 

Through this agreement, CU Boulder will be enabling 5 megawatts of solar capacity to be developed and added to the local power grid and will also own the renewable energy certificates for the electricity produced by the installation.

This solar project will produce an estimated 9.5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of solar energy annually, the equivalent to powering more than 850 homes and taking 1,580 passenger cars off the road for one year. Laid end-to-end, the project's solar panels are enough to fill four football fields. 

“Pivot Energy is excited to be partnering with CU Boulder on this impactful clean energy project to help reduce its decarbonization goals,” says Mat Elmore, senior vice president of strategic accounts at Pivot Energy. “CU Boulder illustrates how colleges and universities can demonstrate industry leadership in advancing the clean energy transition.”