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Webinar: From Thousands of Meters to Carbon Control: Transforming Energy Management at Columbia University
Before Columbia University could take meaningful steps toward emissions reduction, it first needed a clear, real-time understanding of its energy and carbon footprint. With 413 buildings, over 6,000 utility meters, and 5,600+ utility accounts spread across multiple campuses, the university faced a fragmented data landscape that hindered progress toward its sustainability targets and compliance with New York City’s Local Law 97, which sets strict greenhouse gas emissions limits for large buildings and imposes financial penalties for exceeding them.
The implementation of Icetec’s Carbon Energy Platform (CEP) provides Columbia with a unified solution. This advanced system aggregates data from SCADA, BMS, and utility feeds—including thousands of Con Edison Green Button-enabled meters—into a single platform. By consolidating real-time and historical energy and thermal data, the CEP delivers unprecedented visibility across the university’s diverse facilities portfolio.
The platform goes beyond traditional monitoring. It models carbon emissions dynamically, correlating energy use with grid carbon intensity and enabling the university to calculate accurate EUIs for every building. These insights allow operators to make informed, data-driven decisions about equipment scheduling, energy conservation measures, and long-term capital investments. Veolia developed custom Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) that displays all of this data into an easy to read and use interface. This enables the operators to make real time decisions on the deployment of two distinct steam loops and power chillers, enabling centralized operational oversight.
With this infrastructure in place, Columbia can now internally track and communicate carbon performance, validate progress toward its Plan 2030 goals, and prepare for future capabilities—such as dispatching distributed assets, including batteries, based on carbon signals.
This joint case study, presented by Icetec and Columbia University, demonstrates how integrating disparate data streams into a cohesive carbon intelligence platform empowers large institutions to accelerate compliance, optimize operations, and actively manage emissions in real time.
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Presenters
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Sean Morris, Energy Engineer, Facilities Operations, Columbia University Sean Morris is an Energy Engineer at Columbia University, where he supports energy management and decarbonization efforts within the Facilities and Operations department. Since joining Columbia, he has focused on turning complex metering and utility data into actionable insights that improve operational control, reduce energy costs, and support long-term sustainability goals across a large, urban campus. Prior to Columbia, he led energy management for over 6.5 million square feet at Hudson Yards, overseeing advanced metering systems, tenant utility billing, and budgeting for $12M annual utility spend. His background also includes Passive House consulting and energy modeling for high-performance affordable multifamily buildings in New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Atmosphere and Energy Engineering from Stanford University. |
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Alexander Deluba, Energy Engineer, Columbia University Facilities Operations Alexander Deluba is an Energy Engineer with Columbia University Facilities & Operations, where he supports one of the most complex campus energy portfolios in the country. Since joining Columbia in 2022, he has worked to improve building performance, optimize system efficiency, and advance data-driven energy management strategies across a diverse portfolio of facilities in New York City. Prior to Columbia, he spent four years with AKF Group, delivering high-performance building solutions across the New York metropolitan area. Earlier in his career at EN-POWER Group, he conducted ASHRAE Level II energy audits for large residential buildings throughout NYC, retro-commissioned boilers, chillers, cooling towers, and air handling systems, and managed HVAC upgrade projects. He also supported New York City Local Law 87 energy audits, modeling building energy use and identifying cost-effective efficiency measures to reduce site and source energy consumption. With deep expertise in auditing, retro-commissioning, and large-building energy optimization, [Name] brings practical, field-tested insight into how complex facilities can translate energy data into measurable performance improvements. |
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Matthew Wolfe, VP Energy Business Development, Veolia in North America Matt Wolfe is Vice President of Energy Business Development at Veolia in North America (formerly Icetec Energy Services), where he works at the intersection of energy markets, advanced analytics, and distributed energy resources. With more than two decades of experience behind the company’s technology platform, his work focuses on applying predictive analytics and optimization tools to improve the performance of behind-the-meter and grid-connected energy assets. These efforts support cost reduction, emissions mitigation, and participation in regional electricity markets, including ISO-NE, PJM, MISO and NYISO. He is also Managing Partner at Next Grid Markets, a Cambridge-based firm that develops and optimizes distributed energy assets such as solar, battery storage, and combined heat and power systems. At Next Grid, he collaborates with universities, healthcare systems, and large commercial organizations to design energy strategies that balance economic performance, resilience, and sustainability, often through shared-savings and performance-based models. His work is grounded in practical implementation and informed by a deep understanding of how energy assets, markets, and institutional priorities intersect. |