Affordable and Clean Energy

KFUPM acknowledges that conserving energy and utilizing modern technologies with minimal negative environmental effects are crucial for maintaining the planet. The university has taken several initiatives to include this goal in its academic and research activities, even though striking a balance between clean and affordable energy is a major challenge.

Measures Towards Affordable and Clean Energy

The university has implemented a variety of strategies to reduce energy consumption and generate energy from renewable sources.

• A plan was developed for an upgrade of existing buildings and any new structure that will be constructed on campus to achieve high energy efficiency.
• Motion detectors and occupancy detectors have been installed to control the lighting in academic buildings since 2008.
• Since lighting costs often make up the largest portion of the university’s energy spend, an enormous effort is being put into studying the feasibility of replacing all campus lights with Solar powered LED.

Additionally, KFUPM President formed an active committee to deal with power-saving initiatives and practices. An audit and assessment of three KFUPM Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants was prepared by the Center of Excellence in Energy Efficiency (CEEE) at the university in an effort to identify energy-saving potentials for the three (RO) plants at KFUPM, providing assessment recommendations to benefit from the identified opportunities, and improving the overall productivity of the facilities.

Energy and The Community

Energy conservation has tangible effects that show results in various aspects of life, such as the economy, the environment, the individual, and society. For this reason, the university has sought to launch many initiatives and campaigns to rationalize energy consumption and renewable energy projects.

Interdisciplinary Research Center for Renewable Energy and Power Systems (IRC-REPS) KFUPM designed and implemented a training and awareness program - energy efficiency education, Training, and short courses, focusing on energy savings resulting from changes in individual or organizational behavior and decision-making. IRC-REPS has made immense efforts to create awareness and training related to energy efficiency for the community both within and outside the organization. The training was delivered to KFUPM high school students, Asala College, and Dammam University.

Also, KFUPM provides paid/free energy efficiency services for international/local organizations and governments aimed at improving energy efficiency and clean energy (energy efficiency assessments, workshops, research renewable energy options).

KFUPM employees had contributed to the National Communication (NC) in 2005, 2011, 2016, and 2022 and the Biennial Update Report (BUR) addressing studies mainly pertinent to national greenhouse gas emissions inventory, climate change mitigation initiatives, socio-economic impacts of climate change response measures, climate change vulnerability, climate change research, education, training, capacity building, and public awareness.

At KFUPM, Energy Saving Campaigns are running continuously to encourage people to save energy and reduce carbon emissions at home and on the move. A study was done in 2021 to estimate the energy consumption of the university, which was found to be 1,116,000 GJ. The floor space of the university is approximated to be 2,040,000 m2. Therefore, the energy use density is 0.547 GJ/ m2

Additionally, KFUPM supports student start-ups and ideas for renewable and low-carbon technology. A competition for renewable energy was organized for students to share their viewpoints on energy efficiency. In addition, the EI (Entrepreneurship Institute) at KFUPM supported a student to establish a company MyCorr. The company offers engineering solutions for energy in buildings using automation and solar energy.

Supporting Documents