Transforming “The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)” Into a Lighthouse-Project of Sustainability

Abstract UNAM is the oldest and one of the most prestigious universities in the Americas. The main campus of the university is home of about 300 000 students and covers an area of about 4 square-kilometres in the south of Mexico City. UNAM is also one of the biggest electricity consumers in Mexico-City. More than 70 Million kWh electricity are consumed yearly, producing about 49 000 tons of CO 2 emission. Within the paper we will show that this could be changed with a high financial and educational profit. As UNAM has no heating and only a few cooling systems, lighting is by far the biggest use of electricity. The existing lighting system is extremely inefficient while providing unsatisfactory illumination in some places. The UNEP Centre on Sustainable Production and Consumption (CSCP) together with Buro O-quadrat devised a project which demonstrates how UNAM can benefit from an upgrade to a highly efficient lighting system. What makes the project unique is that the results are not based on theoretical calculations but were corroborated by implementation results of a highly efficient lighting system in four different areas (a foyer, classrooms, a library and a workshop) and the measurement of the electricity savings. Within these four areas the average electricity saving was 84% and the combined pay-back time was 2.7 years. Based on the empirical results and an analysis of 10 UNAM-buildings a master plan was developed for the entire university campus. Here the objective was to establish the broad strategic principles for a successful lighting system upgrade, as well as the necessary budget and savings that could be achieved. The results demonstrate that an initial investment of US$ 14 million would result in electricity costs savings of US$ 68 million over the 20 year lifetime of the upgraded lighting system. About thirty per cent of the electricity consumed in UNAM today could be saved with a high profit on investment. In a second step we show that most of the remaining electricity consumption could be produced by solar energy. The Feed-in Tariff system in Germany has led to a high capacity of PV-production and lowered the cost for PV-systems: In May 2013 a 40 kW PV system, including all parts for the mounting, can be bought in Europe for a price of about 800 Euro/kW. Assuming that on 2% of the UNAM-area PV-systems would be installed, these systems could produce about 23 GWh with lower costs compared to the electricity price UNAM has to pay. Combining the investment for efficient lighting and PV-systems, about 60% (or about 29 000 tons) of the CO2-emissions of UNAM could be saved with a high rate of return. Best of all: What would be a more convincing way to educate 60 000 students every year about sustainability than a practical example of highly efficient lighting system and powered by solar energy? UNAM could be a light house for many other universities and schools.