Energy
UC Merced is committed to generating knowledge that leads to new and improved renewable and sustainable energy technologies that minimize climate change impacts. We are setting the standard for institutional operations that promote energy efficiency and sustainable energy futures while educating the next generation of sustainable scholars and practitioners.
UC Merced's objectives are:
- Maximize energy efficiency in building design and operations - with an initial goal to consume half the energy and demand of other university buildings in California and exceed Title 24 requirements by 30 percent in all buildings.
- Zero net energy by 2020: Achieve campus zero net energy use through renewable energy generation by 2020.
- Climate neutrality by 2020: Achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, prioritizing on-site and regional offsets.
Carbon Neutrality Initiative
The UC president's Carbon Neutrality Initiative Student Fellowship Program funds student-generated projects that support the UC system's goal to produce zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. All 10 UC campuses plus the UC Office of the President, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are participating in the program.
Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellows
Shaniqua Lujan
Engagement Fellow
Undergraduate
Public Health
CNI Student Engagement Fellow's are expected to work with their campus sustainability office and staff to communicate about campus and UC-wide carbon neutrality goals and programs, to assess existing programs and efforts, and to engage undergraduate and graduate students in those efforts. Engagement and communication efforts should enable and empower students to provide feedback about campus and UC-wide carbon neutrality programs.
Alex Li
Climate Action Fellow
Graduate
PhD Biological engineering
The CNI fellow will work with Assistant Director of Sustainability on Carbon Neutrality pathway. This includes but is not limited to supporting and evaluating emission output of various portfolios on campus. Offset & REC research, data support. Evaluate vendors on campus who meet sustainability criteria to support emissions reducations. Evaluate how the campus can comply with STARS sustainable food criteria. Student will assess organic waste generation of pounds on campus and carbon emissions associated with poundage. The CNI Fellow will also evaluate and assess the carbon footprint associated with mileage of each individual vendor site. Evaluate local vendors in the community, and sourcing the location of these individuals. And other assignments associated with the campus carbon Neutrality goal.
Dayane Nascimento
Life Cycle Analysis Fellow
Undergraduate
Mechanical Engineer
Will work on a project associated with the Sharing Tries Field Study at UC Merced, which involves use of two mobile apps that promote sustainable consumption within employee communities. To that end, the CNI Fellow will assess how the sharing of goods and services facilitated by these mobile apps impacts greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using current Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methods and tools, the CNI Fellow will compile and update a database of the shared goods and services on the apps and their associated GHG emissions per exchange. At the end of the project period, the CNI Fellow will be present and publish in an executive summary report of their LCA findings.
