EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Eastern Michigan’s sustained energy savings efforts have accelerated the past two years as several new, major projects have come on-line, putting the University among the state of Michigan’s leaders in terms of sustainability.

The various efforts were outlined Thursday, Oct. 25, in a presentation to the Board of Regents.

“These initiatives add up to numerous benefits for the University,” said President James Smith. “Those include lower emissions, a reduction in operational and financial risk, less deferred maintenance and significant goodwill and recognition. They are important elements in our mission to strategically serve the community and our students by lowering our energy costs and reducing our environmental footprint.”

The recent, major efforts include:

• The Co-Generation Energy System, which represents a dramatic change in how power is delivered throughout the EMU campus by reducing utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Last winter, the University activated its new energy saving 55-ton cogeneration unit, which supplies approximately 98 percent of the heat and 93 percent of the electricity to Eastern's 800-acre campus. Completed in collaboration with Engie Services U.S., cogeneration is a combined heat and power system that uses one fuel source, in this case natural gas, to simultaneously produce electricity and steam heat.

 The project will achieve annual net energy savings to the University of more than $2.8 million, or more than $50,000 a week, creating a return on investment in just under nine years. In addition, the project reduces carbon dioxide emission by more than 21,000 tons annually while decreasing nitrogen oxides by more than 110 tons annually.

• Natural gas purchase: In spring 2017, the University signed a five-year natural gas forward purchase agreement associated with the new Co-Generation system. The agreement provides savings from an estimated $4.50 per MCF (1,000 cubic feet) to $3.38, a savings of nearly 30 percent. Then, last June, the EMU Board of Regents approved the University’s signing of an additional five-year agreement, set to offer savings of more than 46 percent stemming from a price reduction of $5.22 per MCF to $2.80.

Rynearson Stadium Lighting Project: In June of 2016, the Board of Regents approved the installation of new LED lights at Rynearson Stadium, at a cost of $1.3 million. The installation of new lights addresses critical safety issues, provides necessary lighting for night TV coverage, alleviating rental needs, and allows the University to run the lights longer than before at a far cheaper rate. The new lights have resulted in an annual savings of more than $130,000, with a payback on the project of less than 10 years.

Such energy savings efforts have already garnered significant and widespread recognition. Next month, Eastern will receive an award recognizing Michigan’s Leaders in Energy Efficiency from the Energy Services Coalition, to be given in Lansing. Earlier this month, Eastern, in partnership with DTE, was presented the Energy Solution Center’s Partnership Award for Innovative Energy Solutions.

More major energy savings efforts are on tap in the near future, including the completion in January 2019 of Strong Hall, which will be LEED certified. Strong Hall, Eastern’s most recent joint capital project with the state of Michigan, received state approval in 2016. The project involves the complete renovation and addition of a crucial facility that houses numerous labs for STEM classes, and represents the third and final phase of the Science Complex, which was also LEED certified.

Overseeing these efforts is the newly established Sustainability Commission, established this fall by President Smith. The commission, chaired by Thomas Kovacs, a distinguished professor of meteorology and an authority on Eastern’s campus environment, is charged with working with various University units to assess Eastern’s sustainability efforts and make recommendations on how to become more sustainable.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 19,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.