University to spend more than $1.2m to lower energy use, emissions

The University of Otago will spend more than $1.2million on significantly reducing its energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and costs, it said yesterday.

It says the emissions reduction from the programme will be equivalent to removing 900 petrol cars from the road.

It expects the investment will reduce energy use University-wide by 16% within five years and the cost will be repaid in savings in four to five years.

Expected greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be reduced by 2600 tonnes of CO2-e (carbon dioxide equivalent).

Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne said the programme reflected the University's commitment to contributing to the international effort to combat climate change by becoming more sustainable.

"The university is making very tangible changes to enhance our sustainability. We have been working hard on this issue for a number of years and we have already made substantial progress with more yet to come."

Chief operating officer Stephen Willis said energy costs were the top, non-labour, controllable cost for the operations group at the University, and energy prices continued to rise.

Alongside the new programme, greenhouse gas emission savings will continue to be realised through the university-initiated switch to renewable fuel usage at the Dunedin Energy Centre, where Pioneer Energy has for the past two years been transitioning from coal to renewable wood chip fuel for the university's heating requirements.

The centre provides heat to the university's main campus heating systems, and about 11,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent will be replaced by the change in 2020.

Mr Willis said the university operates one of the largest and most diverse building management systems in Australasia, with more than 60,000 individual control points and controllers in the larger facilities on campus.

"The facilities controlled by the system are incredibly diverse and spread across our portfolio, including historical buildings such as registry and geology, to leading-edge teaching facilities such as Mellor laboratories and the newly constructed dental school.

"Visibility is the key to implementing sustainability initiatives in the built environment. What is not measured, cannot be managed."

Currently the systems were mostly being used to control and monitor the various heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems on campus.

They were not being used for analytical purposes or predictive management and maintenance of the facilities, which would change with the new plan.