University Park, Pa. -- In a report to Penn State's Board of Trustees Friday (Jan. 19), Steven Maruszewski, deputy associate vice president for Physical Plant, explained that the University is committed to aggressively reducing its impact on the environment, and seeks the cooperation of its students, staff and faculty to be careful stewards of the University's energy resources.
Under the University's current environmental plan projected through 2012, emissions would fall 17.5 percent below the 2005-2006 baseline year -- dropping to pre-1996-1997 levels -- and would also offset approximately 2 percent in traditional annual emissions growth.
"Without taking into account new building growth, the University's reduction target is effectively 29.5 percent by 2012, plus whatever can be achieved through our energy-conservation awareness efforts," said Maruszewski.
The plan would avoid at least $20 million in utility costs, as well as the capital costs that would otherwise have been required to grow the University's utility infrastructure.
Several factors contribute to the University's urgent need to address energy consumption and its overall influence on the environment. Sheer volume of the University's consumption levels makes reviewing and minimizing its consumption practices a matter of fiscal responsibility. University commuters travel an estimated 54 million miles either to and from campus or on University-related business, resulting in an estimated petroleum consumption of approximately 3 million gallons annually. The University's steam plant consumes approximately 75,000 tons of coal to generate heat and electricity. Annually, Penn State uses approximately 400 million kilowatt hours of electricity.
Combustion of these fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, and other regular University enterprises create other common greenhouse gases -- through the use of fertilizers and other agricultural practices and contribution of waste materials to landfills, among other factors. Roughly 90 percent of University Park's greenhouse gas emissions are from the energy sector.
"As part of the University's environmental strategy, we are making every effort to minimize greenhouse gas emissions," said Maruszewski. "Minimizing the energy consumption associated with new facilities and reducing the energy consumption related to all other University operations, reducing unnecessary plug load growth due to personal electronics, under-utilized file servers, energy intensive screen savers, etc. will have a significant impact on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions." Because approximately 30 percent of the energy usage is under the direct control of the building occupants, those in offices and residence halls, cooperation of the entire University community will be required to help the University exceed its 17.5 percent target.
Reducing energy consumption now will also have an economic impact, since utility costs are expected to increase by more than $20 million over the next six years, based on projected energy costs and the current increasing rate of consumption. In the absence of an effective mitigation plan, the costs for utility production will increase $1.9 million in 2006-2007, $2.0 million in 2007-2008, $4.9 million in 2008-2009, $5.7 million in 2009-2010, $2.5 million in 2010-2011 and $2.5 million in 2011-2012 for a staggering total of approximately $20 million between now and 2012.
Penn State's utility infrastructure also has a finite capacity. At the current rate of energy consumption, University Park will exceed its firm steam capacity by 2009. Finding alternative energy sources as well as aggressively decreasing existing levels of consumption is urgent and necessary in order to avoid costly capital investments to increase capacity.
In response to these imminent increases and pressures on its existing resources, the University has developed an aggressive environmental plan to reduce consumption and environmental impact on several levels. First, all new University construction must be environmentally responsible, certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. University Park's new Forest Resources Building recently received a silver LEED rating, just three credits short of a gold rating. The Stuckeman Family Building, completed in 2005 to house the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, was the University's first fully certified green building, earning a gold LEED rating.
Existing University buildings will continue to be re-commissioned and retrofitted with environmentally friendly products such as energy-efficient lighting and low-flow plumbing mechanisms. The University anticipates a 10-year investment recapture of these retrofitting expenses, based on avoided costs in energy and other utilities.
The University also will continue to purchase Renewable Energy Credits. Penn State is one of 10 Green Power Partners with the largest completed green power purchases in American higher education. Complementing that effort are multiple collaborations with University research units to work on new technologies for alternative energy sources and uses. These partnerships will encourage a synergy between academic and operational departments, said Maruszewski. One such example is the University's student-driven entry in the Solar Decathlon.
To continue to reduce petroleum consumption, the University plans to downsize its service vehicle fleet, and convert some remaining service vehicles to be powered by alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas, bio-diesel and hydrogen.
Recent increases in alternative fuel availability have allowed the University to implement the use of B20 (diesel fuel consisting of 20 percent bio-diesel) as a "no-cost" solution. The University will also continue to seek ways to facilitate mass-transit use and upgrades of the transportation system, as well as encourage human-powered commuting: walking and bicycling.
Finally, members of the University community can assist the University with these efforts by reporting instances of gross energy and water waste, educating themselves through online resources -- such as Energyweb, at http://energy.opp.psu.edu/ online, and Penn State's Take Charge Energy Awareness Program, at http://www.takecharge.psu.edu online -- and by adopting more environmentally responsible practices.
For examples of environmental stewardship initiatives undertaken by the University in support of its goals, visit http://live.psu.edu/story/21831 online.