College making progress toward Governor’s energy use reduction directive

SUNY New Paltz is acting to respond to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 88 (EO88), which mandates a 20% improvement in the energy performance of state government buildings by April 2020, using state fiscal year 2010-11 as a baseline.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher has stated publicly that SUNY campus can do better – by achieving a 30% reduction.

A first step of achieving this goal is developing an Energy Master Plan. New Paltz was one of the first five SUNY campuses to submit a preliminary plan to the New York Power Authority (NYPA), and now announces the completion of the Final Energy Master Plan Report, which is available online in its entirety.

The plan includes a full energy audit for all buildings on campus. Staff in Facilities Management and the Office of Campus Sustainability have worked with the NYPA and The Weidt Group, an energy management consultancy firm, to conduct the audit and identify baseline Energy Use Intensity (EUI, measured in thousands of BTU per square foot per year) figures across campus. The baseline EUI for SUNY New Paltz was measured in 2010 at just under 205 BTU/sq. ft./yr.

Because the College had already submetered all buildings on campus larger than 2,000 square feet for electricity (which is itself a requirement of EO88), auditors had an easier time recording precise energy use measurements.

The College is ahead of schedule on a majority of EO88’s requirements, and administrators remain optimistic that New Paltz will meet or exceed them all by the 2020 deadline.

“It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the staff of the Office of Campus Sustainability and Facilities Management that we are so far along in meeting our EO88 goals,” said John Shupe, assistant vice president for Facilities Management. “I want to thank them and all other members of the campus community for their continued efforts to ensure that SUNY New Paltz is lowering its carbon footprint and infusing sustainable behaviors into our daily lives.”

The success of EO88 compliance efforts depends on a combination of intelligent management, some investment in new, high-efficiency systems and the no-cost collective efforts of all students, faculty and staff to use energy wisely and responsibly. SUNY New Paltz’s energy use reduction strategy includes the following actions:

• Retro-commissioning heating and cooling, to reduce wasteful use of thermal conditioning systems during periods of low or no occupancy;
• Working with the campus community to more effectively schedule building and classroom usage.
• Improve insulation of piping systems in buildings across campus to reduce the energy costs of heating water and indoor spaces;
• Continue installation of efficient technologies, such as photovoltaic arrays and LED lighting, both of which have been underway on campus for years;

More information about energy use reduction efforts at New Paltz can be found at the website of the Office of Campus Sustainability.

More information about Executive Order 88 is available at Governor Andrew Cuomo’s website.