Toward Pareto-Optimal Investment Mix to Achieve Carbon Neutrality: A Case Study

Bedor Alyahya, Bedor Alyahya, Alexander Brodsky, Gregory Farley

2024

Abstract

Leading institutions are committing to climate action by setting greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets to reach carbon neutrality. Institutional stakeholders are faced with the challenge of achieving these objectives through cost-effective investments in diverse and interconnected infrastructures, all while considering the existing infrastructure. In our prior work, we tackled this issue by creating an extensible investment model and tool known as GADGET - Green Assessment and Decision GuidancE Tool - to provide Pareto-optimal investment recommendations for heterogeneous infrastructures within energy service networks. In this study we employ GADGET to provide actionable investment recommendations to George Mason University’s stakeholders on a mix of interrelated infrastructures for its Fairfax campus with the initial scope considering renewable energy certificates and carbon offsets, gas and electric boilers, on site solar panels, energy storage, and Dominion Virginia Energy contract schedule. Our analysis covers the period from 2025 to 2050, considering investment decisions at five-year intervals, with the overarching goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. We also perform sensitivity analysis of recommended mixes to understand the implications of fluctuating REC and offset prices on projected outcomes. While our recommendations are specifically designed for George Mason University, the insights we provide may also be relevant and beneficial to other academic institutions.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Alyahya B., Brodsky A. and Farley G. (2024). Toward Pareto-Optimal Investment Mix to Achieve Carbon Neutrality: A Case Study. In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Operations Research and Enterprise Systems - Volume 1: ICORES; ISBN 978-989-758-681-1, SciTePress, pages 372-381. DOI: 10.5220/0012436200003639

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icores24,
author={Bedor Alyahya and Alexander Brodsky and Gregory Farley},
title={Toward Pareto-Optimal Investment Mix to Achieve Carbon Neutrality: A Case Study},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Operations Research and Enterprise Systems - Volume 1: ICORES},
year={2024},
pages={372-381},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0012436200003639},
isbn={978-989-758-681-1},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Operations Research and Enterprise Systems - Volume 1: ICORES
TI - Toward Pareto-Optimal Investment Mix to Achieve Carbon Neutrality: A Case Study
SN - 978-989-758-681-1
AU - Alyahya B.
AU - Brodsky A.
AU - Farley G.
PY - 2024
SP - 372
EP - 381
DO - 10.5220/0012436200003639
PB - SciTePress