JPMorgan Chase
At a Glance
Industry
Financial Services and Insurance
Project Type
Clean and Renewable Energy
Year
2017
Location
New York, NY
Summary
Thulasi Ram Khamma created tools and methodologies to evaluate the technical and financial feasibility of on-site renewable energy systems at JPMorgan Chase.
Goals
JPMorgan Chase (JPMC), one of country’s the largest banks, is committed to sourcing renewable power for 100% of its energy needs by 2020. The firm is focused on establishing a strategic plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its portfolio of 5,500 properties covering 75 million square feet and intends to make investments in on-site renewable energy systems. JPMC enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Thulasi Ram Khamma to evaluate the technical and financial feasibility of deploying on-site renewable energy systems across the commercial portfolio in the United States.
Solutions
Ram Khamma analyzed the potential for Solar and Fuel Cell (micro-grid) systems installation across JPMC’s commercial properties. The systems must be sized so that their energy production is optimized without exceeding the future energy use of the facilities. But, on-going energy efficiency initiatives across the firm could drastically reduce the energy consumption of the facilities, posing a challenge in sizing these systems for the future energy requirements of the facilities.
Ram Khamma analyzed the energy interval data of the facilities to forecast future energy use by factoring in the scope for energy efficiency projects, in addition to on-peak and off-peak energy consumption profiles. He then developed a comprehensive sizing methodology that provides optimal combined sizing of the solar and fuel cell systems so that they match the future energy needs of each facility. Ram Khamma also developed a financial modeling tool which receives the calculated system sizes as inputs and forecasts the economic and environmental impact of the project by considering the capital investment, utility tariff structures, project lifetimes, future energy demand and operating expenses.
Potential Impact
Ram Khamma’s analysis of the commercial portfolio provides additional insights into current building operations and could be used as a tool to seek additional savings from efficient operations. He provided JPMC with tools necessary to analyze the feasibility of on-site deployment of solar and fuel cell systems at the commercial facilities to achieve its goal of being 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2020.