Is the answer to clean energy on campus up in the air?
As energy companies make more electricity from renewable resources or buy it from third-party producers, Ball State could indirectly lower its carbon dioxide emissions by simply continuing to purchase power
Nathan Rush
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The Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington-based advocacy group, said carbon dioxide emissions released by the nation's power plants rose nearly 3 percent last year.
A growing number of studies linking carbon dioxide to global warming has pushed energy companies as well as consumers to investigate green energy, which is power from renewable, environmentally-friendly sources that produce little or no pollution.
Robert Koester, director of the Center for Energy Research/Education/Service, said Ball State spends three-quarters of its annual energy costs on electricity.
He said Ball State could easily invest in wind power to generate some of the electricity the university needs by building a series of wind turbines.
The turbines would be connected to a power grid, which stores electricity until needed, he said.
Alternatively, purchasing green electricity such as wind power would give Ball State the benefits of renewable energy without the need for construction, Koester said.
"Purchasing green power is the most immediate way for the university to have an impact on renewable energy technology," he said.
American Electric Power, which supplies electricity to Ball State, owns and operates wind farms in Texas and Oklahoma, according to an October 2006 press release from Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP subsidiary.
Indiana Michigan Power announced it would build several 200-foot towers to collect wind data in East Central Indiana to research the development of a wind farm in the region, the press release said.
Jim Lowe, director of engineering and operations, said by adding green energy to its grids, AEP can supply its customers, such as Ball State, with a growing percentage of electricity from renewable sources.
Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of facilities planning and management, said Ball State is in the process of working with CERES to build a small wind turbine at Cooper/Skinner Farm, a Ball State-owned property used for environmental education.
Kenyon said the project is for demonstration purposes and that the university has no plans to purchase wind power due to a lack of funds.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 7
robotron69420
peter
posted 3/19/08 @ 12:00 PM EST
there are plenty of arduous options to lowering carbon dioxide emissions, but wouldn't a rather easy one be to restrict the number of police cars issued to campus police? The area they patrol is rather small, I'm assuming the size relative to Jimmy John's delivery range. (Continued…)
alex
posted 3/19/08 @ 12:32 PM EST
Ball state does have bike police, they just don't use them very often. A good start for lowering emission at ball state would be replacing the power plant with a more effiecent type. (Continued…)
peter
posted 3/19/08 @ 12:49 PM EST
that's a bummer they don't take advantage of their bicycles that often. and yeah, a much more obvious attempt would be to work on the power plant.
Tim
posted 3/19/08 @ 1:31 PM EST
UPD uses the bike police when the weather is good. I have seen them many times in the spring, summer and fall. They aren't going to use them in the snow and rain. (Continued…)
Brandon
posted 3/19/08 @ 3:53 PM EST
After looking at the front page graphic in the DN today, I could only wonder...
What the hell does bird migration in the San Gorgonio Pass have to do with wind turbines and renewable resources as power on Ball State's campus?
Who is editing this newspaper?
Neal
posted 3/19/08 @ 6:07 PM EST
Making campus car-free would go much further toward elminating CO2 emissions than trying to power the campus from air. Unfortunately, as is the problem with the rest of society, the changes away from carbon production (which often coincide with fossil fuel dependence, by the way) require restructuring the way we conduct our daily lives. (Continued…)
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