Spotlight on Green Schools
Schools are focusing more and more heavily on cutting back on the energy they use and trying to reduce their impact on the environment. The articles on these pages spotlight individual campus energy conservation programs, energy initiatives, solar installations, energy-related technology, HVAC, research, grants, policy, and other topics related to green campuses.
Rockland Community College is undertaking an $11.1 million energy retrofit that is designed to save $558,000 each year and reduce greenhouse emissions by more than 1,000 metric tons.
The University of Notre Dame upgraded its football stadium with an energy-efficient LED lighting system from Musco Lighting, enhancing the facility’s overall atmosphere and significantly reducing energy consumption.
The grant will go toward expanding an engineering program at NSU that studies the application of small instruments to enhance energy lighting, solar cells and internet speeds.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is installing solar panels in a move that will reduce its electricity costs by $6.2 million over the next 20 years.
Duke University has entered a partnership designed to provide cleaner and more efficient power for itself and the surrounding community.
Des Moines University will replace the lighting in campus buildings with LED lights in an effort to improve efficiency, reduce maintenance costs and improve light quality.
Lehman College has retrofitted its campus with LED lights in an effort to improve sustainability and energy efficiency.
Community colleges are positioning themselves to become the launch pad for a new wave of graduates pursuing "green" careers in fields as diverse as efficient transport, smart buildings, energy storage and climate-change habitat restoration projects. A new report from Jobs for the Future and the National Wildlife Federation offers recommendations for how those programs can be scaled to reach 20 million students with "sustainability knowledge" and skills by 2025.
The University of California, Davis has completed construction of a 16.3-megawatt solar power plant that will produce approximately 14 percent of the university's electricity needs.
Many higher education institutions are working on initiatives to maintain a culture of creativity and innovation even in difficult economic times. CT spoke with Vice Provost for Research and Strategic Initiatives Lee Kats, to learn about Pepperdine University's Waves of Innovation model.
Adelphi University in New York is continuing work on a major facilities project that will eventually save the private institution $1.6 million annually on energy.
Engineers from the University of California Los Angeles Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have won a $1.62 million grant to build a hybrid energy storage system.
The San Diego Community College District recently took advantage of a state-wide program to modernize its lighting technology to reduce energy consumption and generate rebate savings.
On campus cost is a bigger driver for energy efficiency than environmental concerns, according to a new study jointly commissioned by Schneider Electric and the Alliance To Save Energy.
The Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation is launching a new cross-school institute to advance the development of machine learning algorithms for energy systems.
