Multi-Phase Analysis to Work Toward Goal of 100% Renewable Energy 

• Durham County plans to achieve 100% of the county’s operations run on renewable energy by 2050.
• A comprehensive assessment examined 42 county facilities.
• Identified opportunities to increase energy efficiency and to convert fossil fuel end-uses to renewable energy across multiple sectors.

Durham County, located in North Carolina, adopted a renewable energy plan in February of 2022 with the goal of running the county’s operations on 80% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2050. To help meet these goals, Durham County hired HDR in November 2023 to conduct a comprehensive study identifying and ranking opportunities to increase energy efficiency and to convert fossil fuel end-uses to renewable energy.

A large part of our work focused on the county’s commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and domestic hot water systems. Our study also included an analysis for the incorporation of electric vehicle supply equipment, photovoltaic solar and battery energy storage systems at 42 county facilities. 

We also estimated the financial impacts of our recommendations, potential greenhouse gas emissions reduction impacts and created a timeline for conversion of end uses from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. 

On sustainability projects such as this, our planners and designers use a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach. We work with stakeholders to develop projects that are flexible, responsive, and sensitive to the environment and local character.

For this project, we teamed up with Durham County Engineering Department, Project Managers and General Services to coordinate site visits at each of the 42 county buildings, which were completed in a few months. We thoroughly reviewed the water systems, air systems and electrical systems in each building and evaluated the opportunity for energy efficiency measures, beneficial electrification and renewable energy upgrades to offset the electrical loads. This approach allowed for consistency across all facilities, reduced overall costs and was a more efficient use of the Durham County staff’s time.

The next phase focused on mining the site visit data and developing report templates based on key operating parameters such as heating and cooling load balances, equipment fuel source and building controls. These findings were evaluated against the historical building data to identify further opportunities for energy efficiencies and decarbonization.

Individual reports were then created for each building. We made tables that clearly listed equipment, energy usage, challenges, opportunities, facility footprints and available external space. Analytical methods, both industry standard applications and in-house HDR tools, were utilized to guide the team in selecting projects of interest for the next phase of this project.

The final report, completed in June 2024, gave Durham County officials the ability to prioritize projects to meet their goals by estimating the financial impacts against the potential greenhouse gas emissions reductions and create a schedule for implementation. 

We are now helping Durham County implement phases of the recommended decarbonization pathways, starting with 12 of the original 42 facilities.