Nearly a decade ago, campus leaders at UC Davis decided to invest in a small team of employees to reduce energy by optimizing building controls and systems. The concept was that UC Davis could fund such a team, if it could curb high utility bills — essentially having the team pay for itself with energy savings.
Tucked away on the west side of campus, UC Davis’ READ facility receives 20 tons of food waste per day from customers including local grocery stores and our own campus dining commons. With the improvements a recent $4.77M CalRecycle grant provides, the READ facility becomes an important part of UC Davis’ strategy to eliminate the use of fossil fuels from its operations and fight climate change.
Since taking ownership in 2017, UC Davis Facilities Management has dedicated itself to revitalizing the READ facility, working with academic and industry experts to find creative solutions including the development of an ammonia extraction system that processes the ammonia-rich digestate, separating it into nearly ammonia-free digestate and concentrated ammonia. The ammonia-free digestate can be processed at the campus’s wastewater treatment plant, or by other means, locally without adding excess nutrients to inland waters. The concentrated ammonia product has now become a valuable commodity purchased by California Safe Soil as an ingredient in the formulation of a certified organic fertilizer.
The exterior lighting team, who manages over 13,000 lights and 5 intersections of traffic signals on campus, works tirelessly to improve campus safety. We sat down with Philip Erickson, who supervises the team, to talk about all the important work they are doing.
Earlier this month, the Chancellor and the Chancellor’s Committee on Campus Planning and Design, or CCCPD, endorsed moving forward with a $55.5 million investment of campus funds for the next phase of the Big Shift – a heating infrastructure overhaul that represents a crucial step in reducing the university’s fossil fuel usage.
In a recent interview, Joel McCoy, Director of Utilities Civil Infrastructure and Operations, shared insights on the campus-wide fire hydrant replacement project. The goal with the new hydrants is to improve the reliability of the campus fire protection system and protect our water resources.
From researching how to more efficiently cool buildings to adding compost bins to classroom buildings, many units across campus perform invaluable work that allows UC Davis to continuously reach the highest levels of sustainability. Design and Construction Management, or DCM, plays its part in sustainability by facilitating large infrastructure changes in collaboration with other units in Finance, Operations and Administration, or FOA.
Brad Butterfield and his team manage the UC Davis WWTP. During a recent tour, they showed the latest technology in using UV light to sanitize wastewater as it passes through the UV light system. A significant overhaul of the system updated the equipment.
