MIT highlights Energy Transition actions under way aimed at Zero Carbon by 2050

Massachusetts Institute of Technology launched its Climate Action Plan in May 2021 with an aim to eliminating all direct carbon emissions by 2050 and an interim goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2026.

MIT’s Vice President for Campus Services and Stewardship Joe Higgins (pictured) explained the initiatives being undertaken to achieve the carbon reduction goals, the challenges and opportunities and devising a plan to achieving a carbon-free campus by 2050.

As per the plan, on-campus activities will include expansion of the electric vehicle infrastructure, increasing installations of rooftop solar, setting impact goals for the food, water and waste systems and devising a strategy to use AI to reduce energy consumption and emissions from its buildings.

The implementation of AI will enable adjustments to the building’s temperature setpoints during the day to ensure the efficient use of energy by leveraging occupancy data, carbon intensity projections and weather forecasts. The goal is to reduce energy usage in high-intensity research buildings through retrofit projects.

A total of 20 of the buildings on campus account for more than 50% of the overall energy consumption at MIT. The retrofit work is expected to reduce overall MIT emissions by another 10% to 15%. From the 2014 baseline, the university’s efforts have already reduced on-campus net emissions by 20% despite campus growth.

MIT uses the closed-loop district energy system to heat and cool buildings, consuming less energy in the process, leveraging load control and accommodating seasonal variations during peak periods, Higgins explained. A centralized steam and electrical power plant was installed in 1916 that facilitated heating without the use of individual furnaces in every building and in 1995, MIT transitioned to cogeneration.

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Over the past year, the university upgraded the district energy system so majority of its campus buildings can benefit from the most advanced cogeneration technology. This system generates electrical power, which produces 15% to 25% less emissions as compared to the current New England grid. Power is also exported to the grid during peak periods.

Additionally, MIT can import 100% of our electrical energy from the grid as the grid becomes greener.

Among the technology options that MIT is considering to achieve its carbon neutrality goals are electric steam boilers and industrial-scale heat pumps, thermal batteries, geothermal exchange, micro-reactors, bio-based fuels, and green hydrogen produced from renewable energy.

In the near term, MIT is considering options such as enabling large-scale renewable energy projects and investing in verified carbon offset projects. MIT is also involved in helping enable community solar power projects in Massachusetts.