MIT 100% Net Zero at No Added Cost! MIT is hereby challenged. by Net Zero Foundation
Please find below the
Semi-Finalist Evaluation
Judges'' comments
Judge 1:
Thank you for highlighting this option for MIT. It is very clear that the low hanging fruit and the smartest dollar spent is on making buildings super efficient and deriving the very significant value.
Judge 2:
There are absolutely no specifics in this proposal, which greatly reduces its credibility. The MIT campus is comprised of structures built over the past 100 years so there is a large variation in what has to be done on a building by building basis. There is nothing in the proposal to indicate the magnitude of the costs or time scale required to accomplish this goal, or how technologies would be mapped onto this broad range of structures. The $400,000 per year initial grant is insignificant in comparison to the cost of an effort of this type. As a point of reference, MIT is currently spending on the order of $100 million a year on deferred maintenance alone.
 Rick Clemenzi Feb 22, 2016 12:46  | Proposal creator The question on the table is whether MIT is ready to be Leader in the Climate Movement ... or not. As an alum, I sincerely hope MIT is willing to be as much of an "applied technology" leader when it comes to energy and the MIT campus as it is a "technology" leader in the laboratory. It is about whether MIT is interested in being a Climate Leader at a time that the world needs Climate Leaders. That is the question in my opinion. As to the Judge's question of the "credibility" of this proposal, let me please suggest that you do follow the link provided in the proposal to http://netzerofoundation.org/. At that site more details are given about how we in the PV/GHP industries are already transforming commercial buildings to Net Zero. I would not have thought that credibility was required under that circumstance. If you are unfamiliar with the PV/GHP revolution now underway in this country, then please ask us for a presentation to bring all up to speed. We have a 45 hour presentation that will eliminate any questions. What we bring via this proposal that is unique is a collection of the North American experts in this applied technology, plus a specific breakthrough approach for which we have DOE grant applications already filed. The issue is definitely not the efficacy of the technological approach -- that has already been proven in the field and we are now moving toward the widespread implementation phase of these technologies. The issue is "will MIT be a Leader?" If it helps, we are willing to share our DOE Concept Paper with the Judges confidentially -- the title is Net Zero Energy Ready Campus/District Project. It includes the top 2 district GHP experts, the DOE's point person for GHP, and a Climate Bond financier for over $30M. That is all we need to make a serious start toward making MIT Net Zero. |
