Agenda - 06-15-2010- 7d - Laserfiche WebLink

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13 Should UNC- Chapel Hill pursue woody biomass in the form of torrefied wood or wood pellets as an alternative fuel, the University has an opportunity to play a leading role in how this energy source is utilized and managed in the future in our state. Interim Recommendation #4: UNC- Chapel Hill will make best efforts to identify and secure coal that is certified by a third party and sourced from deep mines only. (i.e., not from surface or mountain top removal (MTR) mining). There will be a significant period of time (perhaps several years) during this transition that UNC - Chapel Hill will continue to burn coal. In the summer of 2008, UNC- Chapel Hill's Energy Services made a commitment not to purchase coal supplied via Mountain Top Removal mining practices. Mountain Top Removal causes damage to surrounding human communities and entire ecosystems downstream from surface mines and is therefore not a practice UNC- Chapel Hill desires to support. To further clarify UNC- Chapel Hill 's commitment that any purchased coal does not originate from practices that resemble Mountain Top Removal (valley fill, contour mining, etc.), UNC- Chapel Hill will make best efforts to purchase coal sourced from deep mines only. There are still numerous open questions about MTR Coal, including (1) the sulfur content of deep mined coal vs. surface coal, (2) the cost to extract and transport deep mined vs. surface coal, and (3) the premium to the University for requiring deep mined coal. It was not clear that there was a supplier or certification authority who could/would verify "deep mined" coal, and typically coal is blended. The annual premium cost of $1,000,000 for specifying deep -mined coal was suggested by Ray Dubose at the April 14 meeting, but our consultants suggested the cost might be even higher. All of these issues must be sorted out with the goal of eliminating the use of MTR mined coal. To this effect, the task force further encourages 1) the use of "bonus points" or other contract incentives for non -MTR sourced coal and 2) a transparency /disclosure requirement that indicates where the coal is mined. Interim Recommendation #5: Optimize use of natural gas as supplies and costs warrant During the summer of 2009, coal consumption was cut dramatically and substituted with cleaner burning natural gas. Consistent with the CAP objectives, this model of optimizing gas is preferred, particularly when the coal/gas price is comparable. Interim Recommendation #6: Periodic (once every two years) reviews of the potential for solar thermal and solar PV system installations will be undertaken. The cost of solar thermal and solar photovoltaic systems is plummeting. Between 2007 and 2010, the cost of installed solar PV has dropped from approximately $0.20/kWh to $0.10/kWh, according to the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. Moreover, third party financing has made these systems profitable in public institutions. These systems can clearly play a central role on the Carolina North Campus, but they may also provide retrofit opportunities on the main campus. _......_�_--- .- ..__.._.__....._ _._......_. _.__.. __...__-- .-- ..._.._....._ - - -__. __._............._....._..__ _ _ _____..__..... ._- ___.._�......_........_... -- Energy Task Force Interim Report] 5