Renewable Energy at UCSC

Renewable Energy at UCSCRenewable Energy at UCSC

Tommaso BoggiaSustainability Office

OptionsOptions• On-site

• Carbon Offsets

• Renewable energy credits

(www.iesolar.com)

(www.ran.org)

(www.kansastravel.org)

On-Site at UCSCOn-Site at UCSC

• Cons:– Expensive

• $5/Watt

– Bureaucracy• Max 2 year payback

– Sad, sad history• Solar Hot Water

– Location• Trees• Fog

• Pro:– Power Purchasing

Agreement– UCSC policies

• 10 MW by 2014

– UCSC Farm & Garden

– Location• Buildings• Meadows?

(www.ucsc.edu)

Renewable Energy CreditsRenewable Energy Credits

• Pros– Green the grid– Third party certification– Financial incentive– Media favorite

• Cons– Negligible local effect– Greenwash– Indulgence

(www.sterlingplanet.org)

Carbon OffsetsCarbon Offsets

• Pros– Can be administered

locally– Easier to grasp– Include all type of

emissions (transit, etc)

• Cons– No standard certification– Lots of scams– Dubious methods

• “The study finds little or no climate benefit when trees are planted in temperate regions.”

– Double dipping– Cheat Neutral

(www.americanforests.org)

Three PhasesThree Phases• RECs

– ‘Virtually’ eliminate our emissions

• Energy Efficiency– Cheapest form of clean energy

• On-site, decentralized energy production– Produce as much energy as we can to supplement

greening grid

(eere.energy.gov)

Contact:Contact:

Tommaso Nicholas BoggiaFocus the Nation Event Coordinatortboggia@ucsc.edu