NC State engineering researcher Jay Baliga in his lab.
Natural gas and electricity are the two main energy sources NC State uses to heat and cool campus buildings while fuel oil is used to a lesser degree. NC State efficiently procures energy through a process called energy supply management, which includes campus initiatives such as:
- Combined Heat and Power (or cogeneration) technology, which increases efficiency at NC State’s Cates Utility Plant, saving the university more than $4 million per year.
- Steam trap surveys that identify problems in the steam distribution system on campus.
- Wolf Energy, a university Utility Enterprise, is a recharge cost center that sells energy and services to the campus to fund a utility trust account. Under the Utility Enterprise, all campus entities would be metered and receive a monthly bill for utilities consumed.
- Central plant optimization, which addresses the relationship between the energy consumed by a piece of equipment and the chilled water and steam produced.
- Electrical demand-side management, which saves money by targeting specific activities to reduce peak demand when energy supply is constrained and kW cost is high.
- Energy purchase optimization by NC State’s energy professionals, who review electrical rates, or tariffs, to ensure electricity is supplied at the lowest cost.
- Renewable energy, which comes from rapidly and naturally replenished resources such as sunlight, are part of NC State’s energy portfolio, including several small-scale solar thermal and solar photovoltaic systems.
- Utilization of industry best practices, which are the most efficient and effective way of accomplishing a task based on repeatable procedures that have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people.
- Innovative arrangements with traditional utility firms, which supply most of NC State’s energy. Currently, alternative energy sources require tax incentives, carbon credits, accelerated depreciation or renewable energy credits to be cost-effective.
- Reinvestment legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly (House Bill 1292 was ratified and became Session Law 2010-196) allows all University of North Carolina system schools to keep 60 percent of savings resulting from energy conservation measures to be used solely for future energy saving measures.
