Campus Photovoltaic Integration for Carbon Emission Reduction Compliance

The city of Boston has set a goal for all buildings to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. To meet this goal, urban universities could take the following steps, such as increasing renewable energy generation, adding energy storage, converting heating and cooling systems to electric power, and reducing energy consumption. This project aims to analyze the feasibility of incorporating photovoltaic (PV) systems on the campus of Wentworth Institute of Technology, located in an urban area of Boston. Though the university currently emits less greenhouse gas (GHG) than the target for 2025, GHG emissions would need to be reduced by 30% to meet its 2030 goals. PV systems could contribute to this reduction. Rooftop PV systems are suitable for urban universities as the building structures cover much of the available land. The design and analysis were done using industry-standard software packages of Helioscope and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) System Advisor Model (SAM). The analysis included considerations for shade, weather, module and equipment selection, and campus energy consumption. Two PV designs were made for the campus. The first design resulted in a maximum power production of 1 MW and an energy output of 1,396 MWh/year. The second design yielded a power production of 0.887 MW and energy output of 1,135 MWh/year.