FINANCIAL AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS TO FACILITATE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY INVESTMENTS IN LARGE PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES: TOWARD A MORE PROPER 2COUPLING BETWEEN INSTITUTIONAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS

Keywords: Sustainability, Cluster Analysis, GIS, Community, Financial Analysis, Energy, Electricity Consumption, Higher Education Sustainability
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 12

Abstract

Responding to the existential threat posed by global climate change will require adaptation and at multiple scales. This study relates to this domain focused on sustainable energy production and consumption and ways to change significantly. Spatial context becomes a determinative factor in this perspective. Seeking civic engagement reveals the extent of preparedness for a substantial change. Leadership and decision-making in public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) reflect the preferences and values of their local communities or regions as most HEIs strive to be upstanding citizens who maintain effective Town-Gown relations. This study shows discrepancies between this assumption and the results found through spatial analysis.

It is instinctive to look to universities as sustainable practice models in their respective communities. While the earlier research focused exclusively on the profitability of certain alternative energy investments at a single university, this dissertation offers a more nuanced study that analyzes renewable energy implementation or failure in four public universities through a conceptual framework lens. The proposed method will apply a root cause analysis by involving the spatial context representing the first step in creating a national-level evaluation as the main contribution. The results allow classifying every alternative energy project under investigation along four dimensions: (1) financial feasibility, (2) community environmental preferences, (3) state energy policy arena, and (4) energy savings. In conclusion, a series of key terms and ideas are developed to show the extent of proper coupling in each institution.