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Auraria tops in renewable energy
By Josie Klemaier
jklemaie@mscd.edu

Auraria’s purchase of 17 million kilowatt hours of wind Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs, took effect on July 1, making it the No. 1 purchaser of renewable energy among higher education facilities in the state, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership.

The 17 million kW-hours of renewable wind energy will provide enough energy to power 45 percent of the Auraria campus for the entire year.

Many other campuses, such as the University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Boulder, also ask their students to make wind power and renewable energy purchases.

Colleges and universities on the EPA’s Green Power Partnership top 10 include the University of Pennsylvania at No. 1, with a usage of 112 million kWh of renewable energy, and Pennsylvania State University, with a usage of 17.6 million kWh of green energy.

Auraria’s purchase ranks it as No. 11 in the nation, but No. 3 for percentage of electricity provided by renewable energy, behind Western Washington University and the University of Oklahoma, both of which use renewable energy to power 100 percent of their total electricity.

Shaun Lally, public relations coordinator for the Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board and chair of the clean energy sub-committee, hopes that this dedication to renewable energy will have an impact on students and the Denver community.

“My goal as chair is to set a precedent to Denver and be at the forefront of technology and at the forefront of innovation,” Lally said. He said he hopes that students will leave Auraria knowing more about the possibilities of renewable energy.

The purchase from renewable energy provider Sterling Planet was funded by the clean energy fee of $1 per student at each of Auraria’s three institutions, which was approved by students through a 2004 referendum. Approximately $123,000 was spent on the RECs, according to Blaine Nickeson, student auxiliary services program manager and staff liaison for the clean energy committee. The amount accounts for less than 50 percent of the money collected for the clean energy fee. The rest of the money will be spent on “eye-level” renewable energy resources, such as on-site solar power.

When the referendum passed in 2004, the clean energy subcommittee began researching alternative energy options, and in December 2005 opened up the bidding to renewable energy companies.

Though Auraria’s energy provider, Xcel Energy, does offer renewable energy programs, they were sold out of units. The power bought from Sterling Planet in the form of tradeable renewable credits, or TRCs, will not be transmitted to Auraria directly from an alternative source. Instead, the clean energy purchased will be fed into the grid to “counteract” pollution from coal-powered energy, Lally said.

Sterling Planet, in addition to providing the renewable energy to Auraria, also provides the schools rebates in the form of scholarship programs, Lally said. Beginning this fall, SACAB will be looking to fill internships relating to marketing and environmental science in order to publicize Auraria’s renewable energy usage and to help with decisions about solar projects and other technical pieces.

The clean energy fee will come up for referendum in spring 2007, if SACAB chooses to bring it to the students again.

“Ideally they would like to expand to a green campus,” Nickeson said.