“USC is committed to sustainability through our culture and governance structures, excellence in teaching and research, and effective corporate practices.”
– USC Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Greg Hill
Sustainability goal: Carbon neutral
By Anne Marie DeRose
USC set an ambitious goal back in 2016: to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2025. The focus is on reducing emissions through in-house initiatives before turning to buying carbon offsets.
Measuring performance is vital to achieving this goal, which is why USC captures and reports on emissions from its transport, travel, electricity, water and waste. One of the keys to successfully reducing emissions, while expanding the University, is to innovate. USC’s approach towards managing and minimising waste is a good example.
In 2013, USC was the first Australian university to adopt a total waste streaming system that includes onsite processing of green waste.
This system captures four waste streams: general recycling, green waste, paper and general waste. In order to divert more waste from landfill, campus food venues now use compostable cups, cutlery and plates. This waste, along with food scraps and paper towels, is fed into OSCA, USC’s On-Site Composting Apparatus.
In 2018, USC diverted 45 percent of its waste from landfill. At capacity, 50 tonnes of organic waste a year is now processed by OSCA. This avoids 60 tonnes of CO2 from entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
OSCA is a popular sustainability attraction, with regular requests for tours from schools and businesses to learn about how they can adopt a similar waste management model.
Replicating initiatives across each campus means USC can multiply its efforts. For instance, the University is committed to becoming a “water refill campus”. That means there are no single-use water bottles sold on campus. This reduces waste and encourages staff and students to develop sustainable habits.
Another key to reducing the University’s emissions is embedding sustainability initiatives into the curriculum. That is why USC runs sustainability tours, makes experts available for lectures and engages students at each step of major sustainability initiatives, such as the new thermal energy storage tank, known as the ‘water battery’.
Students can then use what they learn at USC to drive sustainable change in their workplaces and in their lives beyond university.
International accolades for USC water battery
USC’s new ‘water battery’ gained global recognition at an awards ceremony in Iceland this October.
Alongside resource management company Veolia, USC won the Out of the Box category of the Global District Energy Climate Awards for the innovative system that is cutting grid energy use by 40 percent at the USC Sunshine Coast campus.
The award was received by USC Manager Infrastructure and Energy Dennis Frost, who drove the project from concept to completion. Mr Frost was also named Practitioner of the Year at the Tertiary Education Facilities Management Association Clever Campus Awards.
Innovation in energy
Previously, energy use accounted for over 75 percent of USC’s environmental footprint, with a significant portion generated by the air conditioning system. The University’s focus on reducing emissions meant that a more sustainable system was needed.
USC worked with an external partner, Veolia, to devise an innovative solution. That partnership resulted in the first thermal energy storage battery powered by renewables in Australia. The solution represents innovation across design, financing and education.
“It is essentially a giant water battery,” USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said.
The project consists of more than 6,000 solar panels that are chilling water held in a 4.5 megalitre thermal energy storage tank. That chilled water is pumped through air conditioners across campus, resulting in a 40 percent reduction of energy consumption from the grid, which will reduce emissions by more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 and save USC $100 million over 25 years.
Veolia funded the development and construction of the infrastructure and will own and maintain it for the first 10 years of operation. Veolia will recoup its investment by charging USC for the solar energy produced during that time at a rate cheaper than from the grid. At the 10-year mark, ownership will transfer to USC for the remainder of the project’s 25-year lifespan.
Deputy Head of the USC School of Science and Engineering Dr Graham Ashford said students had access to the project and Veolia experts during the construction stage and will continue to visit the site and use it as a hands-on sustainability case study.
“The university practises what it preaches. This project is proof that we are leading the way in sustainability initiatives,” Dr Ashford said.
Water battery quick facts
- 6,000+ solar panels (2.1 megawatt solar system)
- 5 megalitre thermal energy storage tank
- Saves over 100,000 tonnes of CO2
- Over $100 million saved in energy costs over 25-year life of the system
- Powers four electric vehicle charging stations, with capacity to expand to over 20