Colleges Put Renewable Energy Ideas to Work

In December of 2006, 12 college and University presidents in the U.S. signed on to the College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.  The group pledged to set target dates to make their campuses carbon-neutral.  Now, just over two years later, 614 college presidents in all 50 states have made the commitment, and many of them have already made impressive progress toward carbon neutrality.

The Christian Science Monitor reported on the Commitment last week and profiled Middlebury College’s efforts, specifically its biomass gasification plant that has already reduced the college’s carbon emissions by 40 percent.  The plant uses wood chips from local timber processing plants as fuel and provides heat and electricity to the Middlebury campus, home to 2,400 students.  Other colleges have made similar advancements, using various renewable fuels from corn stalks to methane gas harvested from a local landfill to generate heat and power.

These forward-thinking colleges show the enormous potential of creative renewable energy solutions to solve the dual problems of greenhouse emissions and dependance on fossil fuels.  By investing in existing renewable energy technology, these schools not only contribute to the fight against climate change, but also save themselves money on future energy costs.

If these measures were undertaken by businesses and private residences around the country, the U.S. could reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and cut its greenhouse emissions by leaps and bounds in a relatively short period of time.

Watch the video profile of Middlebury College’s biomass gasification power plant: