| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.91 |
| Liaison | Julie Hopper |
| Submission Date | Dec. 20, 2023 |
University of Southern California
OP-6: Clean and Renewable Energy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.01 / 4.00 |
Zelinda
Welch Associate Director of Sustainability USC Facilities Plant Management |
Total energy consumption, performance year:
Clean and renewable electricity (report kilowatt-hours):
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Imported electricity from certified/verified clean and renewable sources (i.e., bundled green power purchases) | 0 Kilowatt-hours | 0 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site, clean and renewable sources (rights retained/retired) | 742,885 Kilowatt-hours | 2,534.72 MMBtu |
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable electricity:
Although these data are based on FY22 (July 1 2021- June 30 2022), starting in Nov 2022, USC struck a landmark agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) - therefore not reflected in this STARS submission data. The university is helping support LADWP’s Solar Farm in the Mojave Desert, called SpringBok 3. The University has agreed to purchase about 30% of what the Solar farm produces, totaling 25 megawatts. This offsets approximately 25% of USC's electrical usage. https://news.usc.edu/202159/solar-power-usc-ladwp-agreement/
A brief description of the on-site renewable electricity generating facilities/devices:
In summer of 2020, the Galen Center Arena completed its ~600 kW system.
Wrigley Marine Science Center installation of 20.8 kW provides up to 20% of energy needs for the dining hall and kitchen.
The Cardinal ‘N Gold apartment installation, the first solar array on a Housing complex, provides up to 16,000 kWh of energy per year.
Although data in this STARS credit are based on FY22, Solar arrays were installed in summer of 2023, across four apartment complexes, Windsor, Vista, Stardust and Seven Gables, will generate 64 megawatt hours of clean energy annually. https://news.usc.edu/209542/usc-sustainability-solar-panels-power-carbon-neutral/
Clean and renewable thermal energy (report MMBtu):
| MMBtu | |
| Clean and renewable stationary fuels used on-site to generate thermal energy | 0 MMBtu |
| Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water from certified/verified clean and renewable sources | 0 MMBtu |
A brief description of the clean and renewable stationary fuels:
NA
A brief description of the certified/verified sources of clean and renewable thermal energy:
NA
Unbundled renewable energy products (report kWh):
| kWh | MMBtu | |
| Purchased RECs, GOs, I-RECs or equivalent unbundled renewable energy products certified by a third party | 0 Kilowatt-hours | 0 MMBtu |
A brief description of the unbundled renewable energy products:
NA
Total clean and renewable energy generated or purchased:
Percentage of total energy consumption from clean and renewable sources:
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for clean and renewable energy is available:
Electricity use, by source (percentage of total, 0-100):
| Percentage of total electricity use (0-100) | |
| Biomass | 0 |
| Coal | 19 |
| Geothermal | 0 |
| Hydro | 4 |
| Natural gas | 35 |
| Nuclear | 11 |
| Solar photovoltaic | 15 |
| Wind | 16 |
| Other (please specify and explain below) | 0 |
A brief description of other sources of electricity not specified above:
NA
Energy used for heating buildings, by source::
| Percentage of total energy used to heat buildings (0-100) | |
| Biomass | 0 |
| Coal | 0 |
| Electricity | 2 |
| Fuel oil | 0 |
| Geothermal | 0 |
| Natural gas | 98 |
| Other (please specify and explain below) | 0 |
A brief description of other sources of building heating not specified above:
NA
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Energy Data in this STARS credit are based on FY22.
Sustainability Design and Construction Guidelines provides direction on new projects to review renewable energy where possible. https://fpm.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/USC-SDCG_FInal-PDF_20220722-1.pdf. Guidelines were created with broad stakeholder engagement.
In 2020, 1,500 solar modules covering 50,000 square feet were installed on the roof the Galen Center athletic arena. The installation marks USC’s largest solar project to date and provides up to 15% of the arena’s energy use. This is not reflected in the reporting fields for this credit because the energy provided by this project is not included in the "Total energy consumption, performance year" field since the project came online outside of the performance year.
More information: https://news.usc.edu/168652/galen-center-solar-project-roof-usc-sustainability/
Energy Data in this STARS credit are based on FY22.
Sustainability Design and Construction Guidelines provides direction on new projects to review renewable energy where possible. https://fpm.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/USC-SDCG_FInal-PDF_20220722-1.pdf. Guidelines were created with broad stakeholder engagement.
In 2020, 1,500 solar modules covering 50,000 square feet were installed on the roof the Galen Center athletic arena. The installation marks USC’s largest solar project to date and provides up to 15% of the arena’s energy use. This is not reflected in the reporting fields for this credit because the energy provided by this project is not included in the "Total energy consumption, performance year" field since the project came online outside of the performance year.
More information: https://news.usc.edu/168652/galen-center-solar-project-roof-usc-sustainability/
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.