America’s Top Colleges for Renewable Energy

Of 127 colleges that reported data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership, 42 are now meeting at least 100 percent of their electricity needs with renewable energy generated by the university or purchased through power purchase agreements (PPAs) or renewable energy certificates (RECs). Seventy-six colleges are getting at least 50 percent of their energy from renewables.

* Schools are able to attain more than 100 percent of their electricity needs from renewables for a number of reasons: there may be changes in electricity use relative to their contract amounts; some schools may buy renewable electricity to help cover emissions related to things like electric grid losses or from their supply chain; and schools might purchase renewables through long-term contracts at levels that anticipate campus growth.

Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., leads all schools, generating and purchasing more than 1.3 times as much electricity from renewable sources as it consumes.

Some schools are utilizing renewable energy resources — including rooftop solar panels and wind turbines — on campus, to both meet their energy needs and provide students and faculty with valuable research opportunities.

Butte College, which leads the nation for renewable energy installed on campus, was the first college campus in the country to become “grid positive” back in 2011, generating more electricity than it used, in large part thanks to the 25,000 solar panels that it operates.

Leading campuses are not just cleaning up their electricity use — they are replacing all fossil fuel-powered systems, including for heating, cooling and hot water, with systems that run on electricity or renewable energy, such as solar thermal panels and geothermal heat pumps. Over half of universities’ energy consumption — 53 percent on average — comes from water heating and space heating, which are primarily powered by gas and other fossil fuels.⁵

Colby College in Maine ranks first for using renewable energy for its non-electrical energy needs, thanks in part to energy from a geothermal system that draws from the earth’s stable temperature to provide heating for its Alumni Center and the Davis Science Center. 

Leading campuses are not just cleaning up their buildings, but also their transportation systems by transitioning away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles and toward EVs. 

Transportation accounts for the largest portion of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States at 29 percent, so shifting how we power our vehicles is essential to reaching a zero-carbon future.⁸

Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida leads the nation in percentage of campus-owned vehicles that are electric powered, with 35 of the college’s 41 vehicles being EVs.

Colleges and universities are reducing energy consumption on campus to make it easier to power themselves with 100 percent renewable energy. Leading campuses are cutting their energy consumption by improving energy efficiency and by better managing their heating, cooling and ventilation needs in real time to prevent waste. Schools are also cutting consumption through energy conservation programs, such as Brown University’s Departmental Sustainability Program (DSP), which encourages departments to adopt sustainable practices in their energy consumption, as well as to reduce waste production and to reduce emissions from transportation.¹⁰

To follow in the footsteps of leading campuses, all colleges and universities should set a goal to obtain 100 percent of their energy from renewable sources — including for electricity, heating and other building energy needs, and campus-owned vehicles. To achieve this goal, schools should:

• Reduce energy consumption through energy efficiency improvements and energy conservation initiatives.
• Use renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, to supply 100 percent of their electricity.
• Transition all other building energy systems — including heating, hot water and cooling — to be electric or powered by renewable energy sources, such as solar hot water or ground-source heat pumps.
• Swap all fossil-fuel powered vehicles for EVs.
• Encourage and enable students and employees to commute to and from campus sustainably by walking, biking, taking transit or using electric vehicles.
• Purchase goods and services — such as food and travel — that minimize the use of fossil fuels.

FOOTNOTES

1. Received data from EPA Green Power Partnership on 4 August 2020.
2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Energy Use in Commercial Buildings, accessed 19 December 2018, archived at link; Leia Guccione and Laurie Stone, “Higher education’s energy lessons: Why universities and colleges are big believers in campus microgrids” (blog post), Rocky Mountain Institute, 31 October 2013, archived at link; Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, How Do Campus Sustainability Initiatives Affect College Admissions?, 2 March 2009, archived at link.
3. Second Nature, Reporting Platform (online database), accessed at link, 24 July 2020.
4. Princeton Review, 2020 College Hopes & Worries Survey Report, downloaded 24 July 2020, available at link.
5. National Grid, Managing Energy Costs in Colleges and Universities, 2003, available at link.
6. This ranking and the clean vehicle ranking are based on schools’ reports to AASHE STARS from 2017 through 2019. See Methodology for full details.
7. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s, Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, Chatham University OP-6: Clean and Renewable Energy, 26 November 2018, archived at link.
8. Environmental Protection Agency, Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions, accessed 10 February 2020, archived at link.
9. EVs in this ranking include battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles.
10. Brown University, Departmental Sustainability Program Overview, accessed on 19 February 2020, archived at link.
11. Alexandra Valnoski, “Vanderbilt outlines major plans to reduce environmental footprint,” Vanderbilt News, 22 April 2019, archived at link.
12. Vanderbilt University, On-Site Energy, accessed on 5 February 2020, archived at link.
13. Katherine Keith, “Vanderbilt commits to first-of-its-kind renewable energy partnership with TVA, NES,” Vanderbilt News, 22 January 2020, archived at link.
14. UA News, UArizona and TEP Given Green Light for 100% Clean Energy Agreement, 10 December 2019, archived at link.
15. Ibid.
16. University of Hawai’i, New Law Sets Net-zero Energy Goal for UH, 8 June 2015, archived at link.
17. University of Hawai’i News, 1 MW of Renewable Energy Goes Online at UH Manoa, 4 October 2019, archived at link.
18. One hundred percent clean electricity: Robyn Schelenz, “UC makes bold commitment to 100 percent clean electricity,” University of California, 29 October 2018, archived at link; carbon neutrality: University of California, Carbon Neutrality Initiative, accessed 13 February 2019, archived at link.
19. University of California, Policy on Sustainable Practices, 24 July 2019, 9, available at link.

NOTE: Chatham University in Pennsylvania reports that its purchases of renewable energy in 2019 exceeded 100 percent of its electricity consumption. The updated data, not available when this report went to press, would make Chatham one of 43 schools to receive 100 percent or more of their electricity from renewables.