Page 679 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

saves the institution $151,000 each year and prevents the
emission of 1100 tons of carbon dioxide. The College of Saint
Benedict saved $50,000 per year and 425 tons of CO emis-
2
sions simply by replacing 35-watt bulbs with 25-watt bulbs.
At Colorado College, students launched a four-month public
awareness campaign, using “eco-reps” in dorms to give advice
on saving energy, as well as e-mails, murals, sculptures, and
energy-saving equipment. In those four months, the college
saved $100,000 in utility costs and reduced its greenhouse
gas emissions by 10%. At a number of schools, students have
distributed thousands of energy-efficient compact fluorescent
bulbs to their peers and to community members, in exchange
for standard incandescent lightbulbs.
Campuses can harness large energy savings simply by
not powering unused buildings. Central Florida Community
College booked its summer classes into a minimum number of
efficient buildings so that other buildings could be shut down.
Central Florida students also surveyed staff and then removed
lightbulbs the staff said they did not need. The college also
installed motion detectors to turn off lights when people are
not in rooms. At Augusta State University in Georgia, stu-
dents studied lighting in the science building and concluded (a) Installing solar panels at Arizona State
that installing automated sensors would save $1200 per year
in electricity bills and save 6.4 tons of CO emissions. At this
2
rate, the cost of the sensors would be recouped in just four
years.

Students are promoting renewable energy

Campuses can reduce fossil fuel consumption and emissions
by altering the type of energy they use. Ball State Univer-
sity replaced its coal-fired heating plant with cleaner and
more efficient fluidized-bed combustion technology. Mid-
dlebury College in Vermont switched its central plant from
fuel oil to carbon-neutral wood chips, reducing emissions by
40%. Furman University in South Carolina installed ground-
source heat pumps (p. 618) that should cut energy costs by
$55,000 each year. Eastern Illinois University replaced its
coal-fired power plant with a Renewable Energy Center at
which gasification of biomass has cut carbon emissions by
80% and is saving $7 million in energy and operating costs
each year.
Solar power plays a role on many campuses (Figure 24.9a).
Schools in sunny climates such as De Anza College are a natu- (b) Wind turbine at University of Maine at Presque Isle
ral fit for solar power, including solar thermal and photovol- Figure 24.9 Campuses are generating renewable energy. PV
taic (PV) systems. These applications provide a portion of solar panels (a) at Arizona State University generate electricity from
De Anza’s energy, and the Foothill-De Anza District recently sunlight. A wind turbine (b) at the University of Maine at Presque
installed PV solar panels producing 1 megawatt of electricity. Isle saves $100,000 per year in electricity costs while reducing CO
2
Butte College in California gets 28% of its electricity from its emissions and serving as an educational resource.
solar array. California State University, Long Beach, is install-
ing a PV solar system that will decrease emissions equal to State University students designed and installed a combined
taking 50,000 cars off the road. At the University of South PV and solar thermal system. Hopkinsville Community
Florida, solar systems were built using funds from a green College in Kentucky is integrating its recently installed solar
energy fee that 70% of the student body had voted to impose array into its science curriculum and is training students to
on themselves. maintain the system. William Paterson University in New
Solar power also works in cooler and cloudier climes Jersey has begun installing what could become the larg-
(Chapter 21). At the University of Vermont, solar PV panels est single-campus PV solar installation in the nation, which
provide enough electricity for nine desktop computers or 95 could provide 14% of campus electricity needs and save $4.4
678 energy-efficient lightbulbs for 10 hours each day. Appalachian million over 15 years.

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