Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Biology 354: Investigations in Plant Ecology Engineering 333: Advanced Thermal System Design Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Introduction Brian Medema

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Class Mandate What would it take to make Calvin College Carbon Neutral? Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Outline What is Carbon Neutrality? What is Calvin’s current footprint? What can we do to achieve Carbon Neutrality? Present our plan to be Carbon Neutral in 11 years. Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

What is Carbon Neutrality? Carbon footprint is a net term. Footprint = emissions – sequestration Reduce emissions or increase sequestration Carbon Neutrality is when emissions are equal to sequestration When the footprint = 0 Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Why Carbon? Carbon Dioxide is the primary Green House Gas (GHG) emitted. All other GHGs can be thought of as equivalent to Carbon Dioxide. 1 ton CH4 has equivalent global warming potential to 23 tons CO2 Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Climate Change http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/images/greenhouse.GIF Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Why Carbon Neutrality? Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Report issued Nov 17th, 2007 Climate change is unequivocal Human activity has caused most of the warming in the last 50 years From http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ipcc2007.html#cite1 Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Effects of an Overall Warmer Earth Loss of sea ice. Rising sea levels. Shrinking Coastlines. Shifting vegetation zones. Effects Developed and Developing Nations differently. Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Global Warming – Global Effects http://www.index-china.com/index-english/china_map_index.htm http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.asia.india.html Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment Signatories commit to: Inventory their CO2 emissions Set target date to become Carbon Neutral Take immediate steps to reduce GHG emissions Integrate sustainability into curriculum Make action plan, inventory and progress reports publically available Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment 448 college presidents have signed At start of semester, less than 80 signatories http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/ Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Project Scope Calvin College is responsible for: All building operations (utilities) Construction of new buildings Food and Waste disposal Daily commuter traffic Service vehicle traffic Calvin sponsored air travel Not responsible for vacation travel Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Emissions Jessica Driesenga

What is Calvin College’s “Carbon Footprint?” http://mingled.co.uk/designs/images/large-icons-carbonfootprint.gif Create an inventory of Emissions and Sequestration Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Emissions Summary Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Emissions Breakdown (MTCE/yr) Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Sequestration Breakdown Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Comparison Carbon Sequestration (MTCE/yr) Carbon Emissions (MTCE/yr) Total Sequestration: 51 MTCE Total Emissions: 66,400 MTCE Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Emissions Reductions Dan VandenAkker

Comparison Carbon Sequestration (MTCE/yr) Carbon Emissions (MTCE/yr) Total Sequestration: 51 MTCE Total Emissions: 66,400 MTCE Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Reduction Options Cost ratio [MTCE/year] [$] [$/MTCE/year] Monthly EV gift for students 1.25 $240,000.00 $17,454.55 Campus Safety in EVs 0.96 $80,000.00 $7,575.76 Calvin owned bikes 1.258 $3,000.00 $2,385.38 Adding Lake Dr. Bike lane and path 14.93 $21,000.00 $1,407.00 Full Rapid Subsidization 264 $94,492.00 $358.53 Renewable Energy Production 5548 $820,000.00 $76.00 Green Energy purchase* -19571 $724,000.00 $37.00 Carbon Offset purchase ∞ $9.00 Temperature Drop 3555 ($172,000.000) ($48.00) Daily commuter fees with increased rates 678 ($83,000.00) ($122.58) * Renewable Energy is not completely carbon free Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Reduction Options Green Energy Purchasing Carbon Offset Purchasing Conservation Renewable Energy Production Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Reduction Options Green Energy Purchasing Green energy has a 5¢/kW-hr surcharge. This is in addition to the 10¢/kW-hr fee. To completely offset Calvin’s carbon footprint due to electricity usage would cost 1.1 million dollars. This is 1.2% of Calvin’s annual budget ($92 million). Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Reduction Options Carbon Offset Purchasing EU is trading carbon offset credits at about 32.95 US$ per metric ton of CO2 However, TerraPass.com sells carbon offsets for 11 US$ per metric ton of CO2 Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Reduction Options Conservation Decreasing temperature in all buildings by 3 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter and 10 degrees during Christmas break would save about $172,000 and 3,555 MTCE (5.4% of total emissions) Reduce electrical consumption Turn off computers at night Shut off lights when leaving a room Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Reduction Options Wind Turbine Installation 800 kW of Power Capability Estimated annual power production of 2053 MW-hr/yr Unaided Payoff Period of 10.9 years Net Present Value $820,000 Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Neutrality Plan Install 4 Wind Turbines Offsets the emissions from energy purchasing and use. Awareness Implement options to minimize commuter traffic Purchase Carbon Offset Credits to cover remaining emissions Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Neutrality Plan 4 Wind Turbines This plan calls for a new wind turbine to be built every 5 years. The wind turbines will be paid off in 5 year periods using money saved from lower heating bills and a small amount of upfront capital. Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Neutrality Plan Increase Awareness Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Minimize Commuter Traffic Neutrality Plan Minimize Commuter Traffic Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Neutrality Plan Carbon Offset Credits Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Comparison Carbon Sequestration (MTCE/yr) Carbon Emissions (MTCE/yr) Total Sequestration: 51 MTCE Total Emissions: 51 MTCE Total Emissions: 66400 MTCE Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Financing Joe Englin

Total Neutrality Costs An upfront investment of $8,500,000 would be required to make Calvin College carbon neutral for 35 years. This would be done primarily though the wind turbine project and carbon offset purchasing. Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Implementation Ideally, this plan would be implemented immediately, however $8,500,000 is a lot of money. If we decide to implement the plan 10 years from now, we need to save $1,050,000 per year. From that point on, we will have enough funding to stay carbon neutral for 35 years. Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Community Values We need to set an example for the community, even if it means spending more. Examples of this would be dorm renovations and fully subsidizing the Rapid. If we decided to push neutrality back one year, we could fund these projects.

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Sources of Funding Increased Parking Fees – This will help reduce carbon emissions and generate funding. Raise Tuition – In addition to the increased parking fees, a 1.16% tuition increase would be required to fund this project. Government Grants. Donations. Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

46 Year Timeline Year 1: Increase tuition 1.16% Years 1-11: Save 82% of funds generated per year for carbon neutrality, spend 18% on green energy projects Year 11: Use the $8.5 million saved from years 1-11 to fund 35 years of carbon neutrality Years 11- 46: Deposit money saved into “Green Energy Account” and use it to fund other projects.

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project 46 Years From Now The wind turbine proposal will save Calvin a total of $15,800,000. The money generated by the tuition increase could be saved and invested in new green energy technology Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Conclusion Brian Medema

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project What We’ve Learned How Calvin Functions Physical infrastructure Financial Decisions Biologists and Engineers Outdoors vs. Computer labs Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project What We’ve Learned Carbon Emissions Trading Simulation Studied our own emissions Driving Heating/Cooling Watching TV Using a computer Machine Drying clothes Reducing emissions is HARD! Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Emissions Trading Simulation Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Emissions Trading Simulation Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Carbon Neutrality is Hard Sequestration isn’t viable for us Reduce emissions: Consume less Be more efficient with what we consume Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Next Steps Establish a Green Energy Fund Tuition Donations Money from Energy Savings Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Next Steps Implementation Dorm Temperature drop Increased Parking fees Subsidize the Rapid for students Calvin Rentable Bikes http://es.geocities.com/circulaenbici/ Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Next Steps Public Awareness Calvin Bikes Bike lane on Lake Drive Electric Vehicles for Campus Safety and other service vehicles Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Next Steps Become Carbon Neutral Administration’s support Finalized plan Installation of green power sources Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Acknowledgments VP Henry DeVries Mr. Paul Pennock Professor Piers Professor Dornbos Professor Heun Professor Warners Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project

Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project Questions Calvin College Carbon Neutrality Project