Across the country, more colleges and universities are fighting rising fuel prices by becoming “greener,” including using hybrid vehicles, wind turbines and energy-efficient buildings.
Despite increasing initiatives to turn the campus “green,” such as improved recycling and energy conservation, this university still pales in comparison to many schools like the University of Florida and the University of Southern Maine.
The soaring cost of fuel, especially after the destruction from Gulf Coast hurricanes Katrina and Rita, is affecting schools everywhere. This university will pay $11 million more than administrators expected this year, and the bills will likely keep increasing in the future.
As a large enterprise, universities are in the position to become the nation’s leaders in conserving energy and being more environmentally friendly. Even before the fuel price hikes, many universities turned to environmentally friendly, or “green,” buildings, said Rob Watson, a Natural Resource Defense Council senior scientist and director of the environmental action organization’s green building program.
“Universities have exhibited leadership for some time now,” Watson said. “Our educational institutions and government institutions ought to show leadership. There are many examples of how [green buildings can] save hundreds of thousands of dollars, there’s no reason not to do it.”
At the University of Florida, officials plan to purchase only hybrid vehicles, which use less gas. They also plan to remove every other light in building hallways where it is safe to do so. Ten of the university’s new buildings are dubbed as “gold,” the second-highest efficiency qualifications according to the United States Green Building Council.
University of Colorado at Boulder has reduced their electricity use by about 10 percent in the last two years and relies on renewable wind power technology for 27 percent of their electricity. The University of Southern Maine uses a solar-powered water heater and ground-source heating, they banned incandescent light bulbs and also own a fleet of hybrid vehicles.
Also at the University of Southern Maine, officials have taken energy efficiency to another level. They hosted a faculty workshop for professors to include sustainability in their curriculum across all disciplines, said Dudley Greeley, sustainability coordinator. This way, the university is encouraging efficiency through its examples and academics, he said.
“The whole mission is to graduate and to add quality to the community,” Greeley said. “We want to graduate environmentally literate students also. We have a heck of a long way to go on that.”
Some universities have responded by creating an entire position dedicated to environmental improvements. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, David Drummond became the first person to serve as an energy sustainability coordinator two months ago.
“The first thing I’m doing is working out what sustainability means for this campus,” Drummond said. “[We’re] trying to use and maintain resources … without interfering with the ability of future generations to meet their needs. As long as we drive automobiles and pollute, we have a long way to go.”
Higher education institutions account for 8 percent of the United States Green Building Council’s registered “green” buildings, which reduce energy use up to 30 percent, according to their website.
Both the University of Florida and the University of Southern Maine are planning to receive green building certification for all upcoming new buildings to add to their pre-existing green buildings, whereas this university has none.
Jack Baker, director of operations and management, said this university is unable to be as energy efficient because of the region’s hot summers and cold winters.
“The reality in this north region won’t work like how it will in the South,” Baker said. “Where the technology works, we certainly are using it.”
Also, the university is constantly expanding, which increases the demand for fuel, he said.
Last Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded this university’s power plant for its efficiency. The plant produces steam used for heating and electricity. However, with the campus demanding 2 to 3 percent more electricity every year, it has frequently turned to outside companies to quench growing fuel needs.
Energy conservation measures at this university include the addition of motion sensitive lighting and upgrading motors for heating and air conditioning. They already implemented computer software programming on faculty that automatically shut down the computers when they are not in use.
All of the energy conservation measures should save the university about $800,000 in the next year, Kowal said.
“As we roll out our lighting project and as technology progresses, hopefully energy conservation will also move along,” she said.
Contact reporter Laurie Au at lauriedbk@gmail.com. Staff writer Roxana Hadadi contributed to this report.
