11. Energy

Message to our students

Charles Sturt University has been certified Australia's first Carbon Neutral University. On 28 July 2016, the Australian Government's Carbon Neutral Program certified Charles Sturt University as 'Carbon Neutral' against the National Carbon Offset Standard.

To meet our ongoing energy targets, we will implement a multi-faceted strategy to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy-related carbon intensity. This strategy includes:

• Commissioning the Bathurst Cogeneration Facility
• Establishing large-scale on-campus renewable energy generation

We will also support investment in energy efficiency improvements by continuing the rolling Energy Saving Initiative.

Resources

• Energy Factsheet [PDF 271KB]
• Bathurst Electrification Roadmap Report [PDF 1.2MB]

Importance of energy in sustainability

State and federal government legislative requirements drive Charles Sturt University and other institutions to use energy wisely and efficiently in our operations.

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act (2007) requires all facilities and organisations emitting above a certain threshold to report the source of their greenhouse gas emissions and submit figures to the federal government.

Most states have requirements for large energy users to report actions to reduce use and increase efficiencies through to state government agencies.

Charles Sturt University's energy management is intrinsically linked to our carbon management. We address this by focusing on two key areas:

• Energy efficiency
• Renewable energy and cleaner energy sources

The Energy Framework supports Charles Sturt University's response to these key areas of energy management and achieves:

• Reduction in operating costs and improvements in operational efficiencies
• Financial savings in the face of rising energy costs
• Compliance with energy efficiency regulations
• Decreased reliance on fossil fuels and their supply from overseas
• Heightened sense of responsibility in relation to climate change issues.

Read more on Charles Sturt University's carbon neutrality achievement.

Progress towards best practice

The below graph illustrates our progress towards best practice across the eight (8) activity areas.  The green bars reaching four (4) highlight best practice and the bars in orange indicate Charles Sturt University's current baseline ratings.  An absence of a blue bar indicates 'no progress' for this activity area.

Action Plan

This framework has been placed with Water to form the action plan for Utilities.

• See the Utilities Action Plan [PDF 118KB]

There are a number of ways you can help us to save energy:

• Turn your computer off at the end of the day (at the power point is best)
• Turn off your lights when you're the last to leave a room
• Draw your curtains during the warmer parts of the day to help lower the temperature
• Keep windows and external doors closed when your refrigerated air conditioning is running to reduce leakage
• Turn your air conditioning off for the last hour of each day
• Set your thermostat lower in winter and higher in summer
• Dress appropriately for the seasons (this will help with the point above!)
• Encourage your fellow staff or students to do the same and help to build a culture of energy efficiency throughout the university
• Send us your ideas on improving our energy efficiency (sustainability@csu.edu.au)
• Take a look at these short film resources [DOC 17KB]

What we are doing

Clean Energy Strategy

Charles Sturt University is progressing a strategy to actively reduce its reliance on fossil-fuel based energy sources, with the objective of all stationary and transport energy needs being met through renewable sources. Learn more about our Clean Energy Strategy.

100% renewable electricity contracts

In January 2022, we commenced a new contract for the supply of electricity for our large market sites from 100% renewable energy, linked to Iberdrola Energy Australia’s Bodangora Wind Farm. In January 2023, our small market electricity sites also commenced being sourced from 100% renewables, under the NSW Government’s combined contract.

Proportion of energy from low-carbon sources

Charles Sturt closely tracks where the energy it consumes is sourced from. The chart below presents the breakdown of stationary and transport-related energy sources for the 2022 calendar year.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations

We recognise that onsite generation of renewable energy is an integral component of what we need to do to reduce our carbon footprint and maintain our carbon neutrality.  We are focused on reducing energy wastage, improving efficiency, getting off natural gas and lowering emissions through our 2030 Clean Energy Strategy.

We have significant solar installations across our regional campuses:

• 99 kW at Dubbo campus
• 387 kW at Port Macquarie campus
• 1,860 kW at Wagga Wagga campus
• 470 kW at Albury-Wodonga campus
• 770 kW at Orange campus
• 1176kW at Bathurst campus

This has the ability to generate over 5,500,000 kWh per annum. The total solar on-site installations across our campuses will be 4,760kW

This amount of carbon dioxide saved each year is equivalent to:

• 1032 Australian houses
• Driving a car 33,716,838 km or driving around Australia 2324 times.

On-site renewable energy generation is a critical part of the University’s aspirations to source all of its energy needs from renewable sources. We are creating an environment that prepares students to meet current and future challenges. Cadet engineers have been a key part of the team managing these installations.

Solar at Wagga Wagga campus

The Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels have been installed on the rooftops of 17 buildings at our Wagga Wagga campus. At the time of installation, this system was the largest rooftop-mounted solar energy system on a single site, anywhere in Australia. This project will significantly increase the proportion of our energy that is supplied from clean sources and will reduce our carbon footprint.

Specific buildings have been fitted with rooftop-mounted solar panels where the energy generated by these panels will, in the first instance, supply energy demands in the building and then any surplus energy is exported back into the campuses own private high-voltage network. This means that the energy generated by the solar panels can be used by any building on the campus.

This amount of carbon dioxide saved each year is equivalent to:

• 405 Australian houses
• Driving a car 13,230,186 km or driving around Australia 912 times. 

How do solar panels work on campus?  View illustration

Birdseye view

Energy Performance Contract

An Energy Performance Contract (EPC) helps improve energy and water efficiency across a range of buildings. The energy savings calculated in the contract are guaranteed.

These are the steps involved in the process:

1. Conduct a feasibility study to identify energy saving opportunities, including the expected savings and costs of each opportunity
2. Undertake the work in each building identified in the study
3. Produce a measurement and verification report each year for seven years (following an internationally accepted protocol) to confirm the expected savings are being achieved. If these savings are not being achieved, the contractor is responsible for making up the difference.

The energy savings opportunities we've included in our EPC are:

• Replacing lighting with efficient LED fittings
• Modifying the air conditioning control strategies to improve the efficiency
• Upgrading air conditioning systems to more efficient technologies.

See the EPC Poster [PDF 1.2MB]

Sub metering

We have a comprehensive network of sub meters. Over 500 sub meters cover electricity, gas, water and thermal energy (chilled and hot water) across all of our campuses.

The meters help us to measure and monitor where we're using our energy to identify the largest energy users and focus efforts on improving their energy efficiency. We'll also see abnormal trends in energy usage and can investigate why these are occurring.