Public and educational institutions consume a large amount of energy which leads to high rates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Mitigation initiatives advance the use of renewable sources alongside reducing energy consumption. Advancing an efficient and effective GHG mitigation process should identify the contributing factor. Most previous university-related GHG mitigation studies have used models with detailed building structure parameters. This approach is useful when planning a new building or during major renovations when all the information is available. However, it is harder to implement on a full campus with a large number of diverse buildings. Therefore, the analysis presented in this paper introduces a framework for data-driven models of energy consumption based on measurements collected routinely by universities and a model to estimate the amount of electricity that could be produced by a university using photovoltaic (PV) solar. The suggested institutional GHG mitigation framework was tested for the case of Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), Israel, but is relevant to any institution. Using the consumption model allowed identifying the main energy consumers (lighting, computers, cooling, and heating) and the potential mitigation of approximately 28%. Furthermore, by utilizing 20% of the campus’s available area for PV panels, approximately 26% of the total annual electricity consumption could be produced. Thus, when both steps are combined, BGU will be able to mitigate half of its emissions. In conclusion, the analysis demonstrates how a data-driven model could help identify the potential contribution of specific and aggregated steps for institutional GHG mitigation.

A paper based on this thesis was submitted to the journal “Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews”.