Sustainable water and energy resources at College of Marshall Islands

In 2006 Beca embarked on a 5-year redevelopment project for the College of the Marshall Islands (CMI) campus in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. A feature of the Masterplan was to achieve a water utility infrastructure on campus that was as self-sufficient from the municipal water supply as possible given the island shortage of water and poor reliability of supply. Rainwater collection and treatment, RO desalination and alternative energy options for the campus were implemented.

During the period 2007 – 2011 three new classroom blocks, an administration block, college library and an energy centre were constructed. Innovative use of flexible “bladder” tanks for roofwater and treated water storage were used to provide a secure uncontaminated water supply should the buildings become flooded by adverse weather or storm surge conditions due to climate change. Because the RO plant capacity exceeds the Campus demand and there is secure potable water storage, the College has been designated as a community emergency water source.

Building air conditioning is the highest power demand on Campus. To reduce the energy demand an innovative use of seawater cooled marine chillers was trialled to replace multiple split unit air conditioners. Using the cooler seawater temperature allows the chiller to operate with greater efficiency. There is a saving of up to 20% energy compared with multiple split unit air conditioners of similar cooling capacity. Photovoltaic panels were installed on the completed buildings as part of the overall energy sustainability strategy. An initial installation of 65kW of PV panels provided some 400kWh of grid-connected power daily, which offset the 300kWh power requirements for 12 hours operation of the RO desalination water plant.

A diesel generator was installed to provide back-up power supply to the site in conjunction with the alternative energy systems. CMI intends to research the use of coconut oil as a biodiesel fuel substitute. This research may have spin-offs for other outer atolls in the production of coconut oil to provide a more sustainable income than the current copra based income.