CU regents approve sustainability initiatives
Editor’s note: This article was updated Aug. 16 to more accurately reflect the specific nature of work planned for each building included in the building efficiency project.
The University of Colorado Board of Regents has approved two projects that will support CU Boulder’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality no later than 2050.
The approval follows Gov. Jared Polis’s awarding of two geothermal grants to CU Boulder in May.
“We are rapidly taking action to achieve CU Boulder’s sustainability goals, as outlined in our updated Climate Action Plan,” Chancellor Philip DiStefano said. “It is encouraging that these projects will decrease our campus’s carbon impact as we make progress toward our goal to achieve carbon neutrality.”
East Campus solar array
Key highlights:
- Project start: June 2025
- Completion: January 2026
- Cost: $7,817,250
Current plans encompass the construction of a 1.1 megawatt (MW) ground-mounted solar array on a two-acre site east of parking Lot 560.
Building efficiency project
Key highlights:
- Project start: Fall 2024
- Completion: Fall 2025
- Cost: $5,775,000
This project will conduct facilities improvement measures to 18 buildings on Main Campus. Projected annual utility savings are estimated at $352,000 with an additional $25,000 in operational savings. Annual carbon dioxide (CO2) savings are projected at 2,226 metric tons. Specific measures include the following:
- Replacement of steam traps at Benson Earth Sciences Building, Drescher Undergraduate Engineering, Economics Building, Imig Music Building, Koenig Alumni Center, Norlin Library, Regent Administrative Center, Visual Arts Complex and Woodbury Arts & Sciences Building
- Lighting upgrades to LED at Drescher Undergraduate Engineering and Norlin Library
- Optimization of building controls at Continuing Education Center, Regent Administrative Center, Visual Arts Complex and Woodbury Arts & Sciences Building
- Installation of low-use water fixtures, and campus constituent engagement and education at Benson Earth Sciences Building, Bruce Curtis Museum Collection Building, Continuing Education Center, Denison Arts & Sciences Building, Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory (ITLL), Economics Building, Environmental Health and Safety Building, Fiske Planetarium & Science Center, Gallogly Discovery Learning Center, Imig Music Building, Koenig Alumni Center, Mathematics Building, Norlin Library, Regent Administrative Center, University Administrative Center, University Theatre, Visual Arts Complex and Woodbury Arts & Sciences Building