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.
Butte College in Oroville, CA said it has made history this week by becoming the first institution in the United States to go "grid positive." The Northern California college, which has about 14,000 students, now generates more electricity from its solar arrays than it consumes and will deliver power back to the electric grid.
BenQ will release the MX850UST, an energy-efficient DLP projector with a contrast ratio of 13,000:1, this August.
A California college has shaved $650,000 off of its energy expenses with a few strategic moves, including solar panels that double as cover for parking and Web-based software for micromanaging lighting and mechanical energy use.
The University of South Carolina's Computer Science and Engineering department is experimenting with software that micro-manages energy use on PCs. The result has been savings of up to 38 percent.
Using solar power generation, recycled materials, and a water-efficient sewage system, Stanford University's new Knight Management Center will achieve a LEED Platinum rating for environmental sustainability, according to information released by the school.
A community college in Kansas is slashing its energy bills with a $2.7 million infrastructure overhaul. Utilizing energy performance contracting and a tax-exempt financing program, upfront costs for the overhaul have been practically nil, while savings are "growing exponentially" all over the campus.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has completed building upgrades that will save the school an estimated $620,000 in energy costs per year.
American University is installing more than 2,300 solar panels to build the largest urban solar hot water system on the East Coast.
To score on a project as expensive and complex as a green data center, a CIO needs to understand the best time to seize the opportunity.
CIOs must spearhead the move to sustainable campuses, for the sake of their institutions and their own jobs.
Across the world of higher education, IT departments are embracing sustainability to save money--and the planet. We profile seven institutions that have shifted their efforts into high gear.
Before you build your case for a green data center, consider this advice from higher ed IT leaders who have been there first.
A small liberal arts Christian college in Virginia is making an energy usage dashboard available to the campus community for its newest residence hall.
As part of a larger, ongoing energy conservation program, the University of Maryland in College Park recently overhauled lighting on its campus, a move that's expected to save 1.4 million kilowatt hours per year.
IBM and City University of New York have teamed up to develop a new analytics tool that's designed to help New York's public schools save on energy costs. The conservation program will also be used to give a boost to STEM education in the city's K-12 schools.
