Green Schools | News

Ohio State U Recognized by EPA for Use of Wind Power

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 09/24/13

Ohio State University (OSU) has been named a Green Power Partner of the Year by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in part due to its use of wind-generated electricity.

OSU purchased 50 megawatts of wind power generation capacity from the Blue Creek Wind Farm and is projected to receive 141 million kilowatt-hours annually, or 25 percent of its yearly use.

"We are committed to incorporating sustainability into all facets of the university," said Jay Kasey, senior vice president of Administration and Planning at Ohio State, in a prepared statement. "In addition to initiatives in academics and research, we know we need to lead by example and ensure our operations are sustainable, which means looking at how we build our buildings, ensuring those buildings are as energy efficient as possible, and looking at how we can be more sustainable in how we power our university."

Other sustainability initiatives at Ohio State include:

• Four-hundred geo-thermal wells, completed over the summer, will provide approximately 31 percent of the heating and cooling needs of the south district residence halls;
• Energy conservation measures currently being installed in the five buildings that consume the most energy on campus will drop consumption at those locations by an estimated 30 percent; and
• A 50-panel 12-KW solar photovoltaic installation at the school's Lake Erie Gibraltar Island research facility that provides 10-25 percent of the labs energy needs.

More information about OSU's sustainability efforts is available at osu.edu.