Spotlights: Campus Energy Activities
MIT to test energy-saving building projects for DOE
January 26, 2012. MIT is one of just 24 building owners and projects nationwide selected to participate in a $21 million US Department of Energy (DOE) initiative to accelerate the adoption of cost-effective energy-saving measures in commercial buildings.
A study in green building on campus
January 12, 2012. A new MIT analysis shows that those regulations—which mandate increasing fuel economy in new cars and, more recently, the gradual phasing in of biofuels—are not the most cost-effective way to reduce gasoline use.
Five-year effort by Campus Energy Task Force saves MIT millions of dollars, kilowatt-hours
December 20, 2011. MIT will save $3.5 million on energy this year and broadly advance sustainability across campus thanks to five years of work by the MIT Campus Energy Task Force—and the effort continues to build momentum, according to Theresa M. Stone, who chaired the task force up until she retired as executive vice president (EVP) and treasurer earlier this fall.
EVP Israel Ruiz co-chairs campus energy task force
December 6, 2011. New Executive Vice President and Treasurer Israel Ruiz has been named co-chair of the MIT Energy Initiative's Campus Energy Task Force (CETF). He succeeds Theresa M. Stone, who retired this fall after serving five years on the task force.
Student project identifies improvements for campus PVs
November 30, 2011. The Photovoltaic Research Laboratory in Building 35 is not the only venue on campus for hands-on investigation of solar technology. Last fall, students from Tonio Buonassisi's class, "Fundamentals of Photovoltaics" (2.626/7), discovered unexpectedly rich learning opportunities high atop the Alumni Pool building, Hayden Library, and the Student Center, the sites of three photovoltaic (PV) installations. With the assistance of the MIT Department of Facilities, students explored the performance of these solar modules, resulting in what Buonassisi calls "a stellar class project with real-world implications for on-campus solar installations."
Turning green to gold: Koch building takes the lead in lab energy performance
October 21, 2011. The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research is not only MIT's first shared home for life scientists and engineers battling the disease, but also its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified research laboratory facility, as rated by the U.S. Building Green Council.
MIT campus receives local and regional recognition for energy programs in 2011
Energy programs on MIT's campus over the last year have recently garnered the Institute recognition from two organizations. The City of Cambridge awarded MIT a 2011 Go Green Award for its leading campus programs addressing energy and climate. MIT was also named a Business Leader by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP), specifically for its innovative partnership with local utility provider, NSTAR, in the MIT Efficiency Forward program. Both awards further demonstrate MIT's local and regional leadership in energy programs.
MIT signs international charter, deepening commitment to campus sustainability
In January 2011, MIT submitted its first annual report to the secretariat of the Sustainable Campus Charter, an agreement signed by MIT President Susan Hockfield and leaders of 25 other internationally known universities during the 2010 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
By signing the inaugural charter, Hockfield pledged to deepen the Institute's long-standing commitment to improve sustainability, foster energy efficiency, and reduce waste in all campus activities. She further pledged to cooperate with her fellow charter members in sharing new information and experiences that emerge through their local sustainability efforts.
Published 8 August 2011
A shared success story points to a hopeful energy future for Massachusetts
When it came to saving energy, MIT outdid itself in 2010. MIT surpassed by 30% its institutional goal of saving 10 million kilowatt hours as part of a first-of-its-kind collaboration with gas and electric utility NSTAR.
At a daylong forum in January, MIT shared the details of its success with more than 100 administrative, financial, and facilities leaders from local institutional energy customers. MIT faculty and staff led "how-to" workshops for business, community, and university leaders who would like to develop organizational and financial models to build large-scale, innovative energy efficiency programs such as the one created by MIT and NSTAR.
Posted 3 August 2011
Aiming at campus energy savings, hitting the targets
Three new initiatives at MIT are taking aim at energy savings from multiple directions. The goal: saving tens of millions in energy costs, reducing the Institute’s carbon footprint, and forging new partnerships that encourage and reward strategic energy use. So far, the new programs are all hitting their targets. Posted 5 January 2011
3 Questions: Walt Henry
This year, MIT became a member of the Global Superior Energy Performance (GSEP) Partnership, a nationwide collaboration that aims to find, quantify and share the best methods for universities, businesses and industries to save energy and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Walt Henry, director of the Systems Engineering Group at MIT’s Department of Facilities, discusses the implications of this collaboration and the ways MIT aims to implement its goals. Posted 21 December 2010
Setting the standard for sustainability in dining
When Maseeh Hall’s dining facility opens in fall 2011, every scrap of food will be composted, thanks to a pulper-extractor machine that turns food waste into a dry pulp; cooking oil will be reused as biodiesel in campus vehicles, thanks to a pump that simplifies the conversion process; and the electricity bill will be lower, thanks to energy-saving equipment. Posted 13 December 2010
MIT's Green Ambassadors spread the word on ways to "walk the talk"
At MIT, more than 170 student, staff, and faculty volunteers promote sustainable practices such as taking the stairs, turning off lights, bringing reusable containers to the lunch trucks, and more. Posted 10 August 2010
Fund helps energy efficiency bloom across campus
Gifts from MIT alumni have enabled the Institute to establish a fund to support campus energy and efficiency projects that have rapid paybacks. Savings from the first round of projects financed by the fund will be reinvested into a second round of energy conservation work. Posted 14 July 2010
Efficiency Forward: Ambitious collaboration between MIT and NSTAR aims to cut campus electricity use by 15 percent over 3 years.
In what could serve as a model for achieving large-scale energy-efficiency improvements, MIT and Boston-based utility NSTAR on Wednesday announced an ambitious collaboration that aims to slash the Institute’s electricity use by 15 percent over the next three years. Posted 7 June 2010
Gaining visibility into buildings’ real-time energy performance
In MIT’s Building 68, the biology building, detailed monitoring and analysis of building operation—called continuous commissioning—led to adjustments in the building’s automation system yielding significant energy and cost savings. Posted 22 January 2010
Ashdown House gets LEED-Gold certification
On Nov. 13, Ashdown House (W 35, a.k.a. “new Ashdown”) received a LEED-Gold certification—MIT’s first such nod from the U.S. Green Building Council. Posted 4 December 2009
Walking the Talk at MIT: John DiFava
Switching from titanic gas-guzzlers to more fuel-efficient hybrids and V6s for security, grounds crews, and mail distribution is just one of the environmentally friendly measures John DiFava is incorporating as director of Facilities Operations and Security. Posted 16 October 2009
Chilled beams hit the roof
Employees in a handful of MIT buildings might notice what look like slim, fin-tubed radiators in ceiling cavities. These cooling devices, called chilled beams, use water, not air, to remove heat from a room. The energy savings can be considerable. Posted 16 July 2009
Walking the Talk at MIT: Richard L. Amster Jr.
Richard L. Amster Jr., director of campus planning, engineering, and construction for the Department of Facilities, sees MIT as an enormous, working prototype for the sustainable campus of the future. Posted 24 June 2009
Welcome to MIT Earth Week 2009
This year’s MIT Earth Week—held April 21 through April 24—includes a major address by James McCarthy, chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); an Earth Day Fair; the EcoExpo/Sustainability Summit Poster Session; the MIT Sustainability Summit; and a showing of the film “Our Daily Bread.” Posted 21 April 2009
MIT dorms vie for greatest energy reductions
For the third year, MIT students are now pitting dorm against dorm to see which can achieve the greatest reduction in electricity use over an eight-week period. This year, for the first time, the seven graduate dorms will join the 11 undergraduate dorms in the competition. Posted 17 April 2009
Walking the Talk at MIT: Jerrold M. Grochow
Jerrold Grochow, vice president for Information Services and Technology, and his team work with the MIT community to identify and implement strategies for reducing energy use in the thousands of personal computers and servers across the campus. Posted 26 March 2009
Going green saves MIT green
MIT students, faculty, and staff are working hard to put improvements in energy efficiency into practice on their campus. Those efforts are the focus of Energy Futures Week, an annual set of events coordinated by the MIT Energy Initiative to educate, inspire, and engage the MIT community in all things energy. Posted 22 January 2009
Walking the Talk at MIT: Karen A. Nilsson
As a member of MITEI's Campus Energy Task Force, Karen Nilsson, senior associate dean for Residential Life, works with her fellow Task Force members to engage the entire campus community in identifying, developing, and implementing sustainable energy practices. Posted 9 January 2009
Turning bricks and mortar green
Using innovative technologies, systems, and design methods, MIT has been making its new campus buildings as green as possible—both to meet Institute-wide commitments to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and to serve as a model for other organizations. Posted 5 November 2008
MIT students seek to harness waste heat
A team of MIT students is looking to harness waste heat at MIT's cogeneration plant, which provides most of the electricity, heat, and air conditioning for the campus. The plant is already a model of energy efficiency—but the students aim to make it even more so. Posted 26 September 2008
$500K funding helps MIT walk the talk
Lights that turn themselves off when no one is around and lab bench fans that shut down when you walk away are two of a series of new campus energy conservation projects that will help MIT reduce its carbon footprint. Posted 2 April 2008
Students launch new campus energy projects
With MITEI support, student groups are now examining energy-saving retrofits for campus buildings, developing a solar thermal dish concentrator, finding ways to encourage energy-saving habits like printing two-sided, and more. Posted 5 March 2008
Tricked out electric bike beats car during rush hour
An electric bike developed by an MIT physics professor promises a low-cost, energy-efficient commute. Posted 14 November 2007
MIT competes in DOE’s Solar Decathlon
For the first time, MIT had an entry in the Department of Energy's annual Solar Decathlon—a village of 20 off-grid solar homes that were built by college students, assembled on the National Mall in Washington, and open to the public from October 12 to October 20. Posted 12 October 2007
Pedal-powered laptop
MIT students have come up with a way to recharge your laptop without plugging it in. In a class project, they designed and built an exercise bicycle that uses “pedaling power” to charge a laptop computer. Posted 19 September 2007
MITEI enlists student help reduce MIT’s energy, environmental footprint
Last spring, MITEI awarded funds for seven student projects aimed at cutting campus energy use and encouraging adoption of sustainable energy practices. Supported by that funding, students are now developing a map displaying energy intensity for each campus building, preparing a wind turbine design competition for Independent Activities Period, and more.Posted 19 September 2007
The winds of change: MIT aims sky-high to reduce emissions
A 12-foot diameter wind turbine on MIT's 29-story Eastgate tower would help make a dent in MIT's electric bill, offset CO2 emissions and serve as an educational resource for future student projects related to energy and wind. A team of undergraduates provides the lowdown on aiming for energy up high. Posted 11 June 2007
Fresh air: MIT campus education campaign pays off
Scientific equipment called fume hoods—widely used in industry, hospitals and universities—are big energy users. An MIT student's review of fume hood use in one building led to a laboratory education campaign resulting in significant savings and a chance to improve MIT's energy and carbon footprint. Posted 23 May 2007
Walking the talk: MIT tackles its own energy challenge
MIT has launched a plan for greening the campus that enlists the help of the entire community, including the campus itself. The goal: major reductions in campus-wide energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Posted 9 May 2007
