Lobo Energy Inc. is responsible for
- The Assistance and Advisement of Utility infrastructure projects
- The Review and suggested action of regulatory issues related to energy
- Measurement and Verification of all UNM facilities for Utility and Sustainability metrics
- Advising on sustainability, new technology, the purchase of all utilities
- Auditing and monitoring campus energy systems (including the campus-wide District Energy System) to document energy usage and Identifying strategies to reduce energy consumption
25 Years of Energy Reduction and Cost Avoidance Accomplishments
Twice as efficient as a traditional utility provider
Producing 243,000 pounds per hour of steam, 14,300 tons of chilled water, and generating 14 MWH of electricity
SMART metering system in 95 percent of UNM Buildings
How has UNM and LEI Accomplished all of this?
Most of UNM’s improvements in sustainability, cost avoidance, and energy consumption reduction are due to the creation of a District Energy System (DES).
A DES is a central utility plant for multi-building heating and cooling systems, and a strategy for decarbonization. By eliminating individual boilers and chillers in every building, and by aggregating the energy needs for the entire campus, the DES achieves economies of scale for safer and easier building maintenance while lowering expenses and carbon footprint.
A typical utility plant is between thirty and fifty percent efficient. UNM’s DES, with its combined heat and power system, routinely achieves eighty percent efficiency and that’s good news for everyone!
The combined heat and power system generates electricity and uses the wasted steam to heat the campus.
The DES also offers protection against the loss of power during extreme weather events or an over-burdened power grid.
