Energy Solutions

Achieving Carbon Neutrality requires effort on many fronts. The updated Climate Action Plan will focus on decarbonizing the campus through renewable energy and electrifying the campus heating system.

The Climate Action Plan also recognized that Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and carbon offsets would be a part of our equation for achieving carbon neutrality. With the installation of LED lights, solar arrays, and a co-generation turbine in the central heating plant, as well as the purchase of carbon offsets, read more about Bowdoin’s energy solutions below.

Bowdoin has taken several significant steps to increase energy efficiency including rebuilding several steam lines, upgrading major boilers in the campus central steam plant, installing energy-efficient lighting throughout the campus, incorporating heat recovery and variable frequency drives in building upgrades and new building projects with a strong focus on LEED Energy and Atmosphere credits as well as passive house standards. Lighting projects in 2014 reduced annual electricity usage by more than 600,000 kWhs or 3.2%. The Combined Heat and Power (CHP) project at the College’s central heating plant reduced annual electricity usage by 7% through the operation of an efficient steam turbine. Weatherization projects in 2017 and 2018, which include added insulation and air sealing, occurred at Baxter House, Burnett House, and MacMillan House.

Bowdoin has paid for many of these projects through an energy efficiency fund and with help from the Efficiency Maine Trust. Bowdoin has been a smart purchaser of utilities by locking in favorable natural gas, heating oil, and electricity rates. These savings, along with savings related to decreased energy use, have been reinvested into further energy efficiency projects.

Bowdoin measures its energy use through an energy dashboard and solar PV metering of its facilities. This valuable data is available to faculty, staff and students alike to measure the College’s progress in reducing its carbon footprint. Believing in the adage, “What gets measured gets managed”, Bowdoin has electric meters in over 50 campus buildings and steam meters in over 30 campus buildings. The data is utilized to confirm the success of energy efficiency projects as well determine which buildings are the worst performers and help prioritize future upgrades and repairs.

The energy dashboard is also used as a tool in Bowdoin’s annual energy conservation dorm competitions. The competitions are a fun way to engage students in energy conservation and hopefully lead to life long habits in energy conservation. From remembering to shut lights and TV’s off when leaving a room, to considering the stairs over the elevator when able, the real-time competitions are a reminder that there is a consequence every time we flip the switch.

Decarbonizing our energy sources is seen as a critical path to achieving long-term CO2 reductions. In 2014 Bowdoin supported the installation of a 1.2MW solar project on campus as part of a twenty-year power purchase agreement with Solar City. While Bowdoin has guaranteed to purchase all the power the panels produce, the college did not purchase the RECs from the project. In the spring of 2018, Bowdoin signed a new VPPA contract to support another 8MW of solar power in Farmington, Maine, which is part of a much larger project in partnership with four schools from western Massachusetts, Amherst, Smith, Williams, and New Hampshire.

Featured news articles with more information:

Bowdoin Steps Forward on Renewable Energy Plan

Nearby Solar Array Will Supply Bowdoin with Lots of Maine-made Power

A Bright Spot: Bowdoin Pushes Forward on Major Solar Projects

Visit an interactive experience (or the accessible text-only version) that highlights the evolution and direction of the Bowdoin College campus from 2018 to 2025 in key areas including sustainability, academic and administrative office realignment, teaching and learning initiatives, student initiatives, renovation and adaptive reuse, and accessibility and inclusion.