Faced with rising fuel costs, Clemson Facilities strives to conserve energy and promote energy initiatives across campus. Clemson is committed to reducing total energy consumption by 20% by 2020. As seen from the charts below, Clemson has had a reduction in energy consumption during the last two years despite the increase of gross square footage of building space on campus. Unfortunately, the energy reductions did not translate into savings due to the rising costs of fuel. The cost of energy has consistently risen over the past six years.
Energy Consumption and Costs
Click on the images above to view larger versions.
While fuel costs are increasing, the Facilities budget is drastically decreasing. Given these circumstances, Facilities is compelled to find ways to decrease energy consumption, increase renewable energy sources, retrofit inefficient electrical systems, and promote energy initiatives.
Energy Mix
Clemson's total energy mix is comprised of electricity, coal, natural gas, fuel oil, and propane. Our electricity is purchased from Duke Energy to support the main campus operations. Additionally, other fuels are purchased to support the Central Energy Facility (CEF) which is also on campus and operated by Facilities. The CEF houses 3 boilers, 4 chillers, and 2 gas turbines among other equipment. Boiler fuels include coal, natural gas and fuel oil. The turbines are fired by natural gas.
Clemson purchases water from the Anderson Regional Joint Water System to serve the main campus and Fants Grove water district.