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Students fight for clean energy
by Lindsay Sandham
The Metropolitan
Metro State Active Voices for the Environment, a group of students dedicated
to preserving the environment, has been campaigning to bring clean and
renewable energy to the Auraria campus by next Fall Semester.
Two Metro students gave a presentation outlining their proposal to bring
wind and solar energy to campus at the Feb. 18 Auraria Higher Education
Center meeting.
MSAVE collected 2,297 student signatures from all three institutions
petitioning for clean energy.
AHEC will announce at their meeting March 17 their decision on whether
or not the campaign will go to student vote.
If they decide to allow the issue to be voted on, students will be able
to register a vote online on Earth Day, April 22. There is no minimum
vote required; however, the vote must pass at all three colleges.
Joel Sayre, Metro student and MSAVE member, said if the vote is approved
Auraria will have renewable energy on campus by next fall.
He also said the more people purchase renewable energies, the more the
cost will be driven down and more jobs will be created.
“Eventually, it will put oil drilling and coal mining out of business,”
Sayre said. “It’s about supply and demand, the less oil and
coal there is, the higher the price.”
“Our utilities run about $3 million a year,” said Dean Wolf,
executive vice president of administration for AHEC. “Natural gas
prices are going up, and will probably go up close to 10 percent next
year, which is about $300,000.”
He also said AHEC’s annual budget is about $18 million per year,
which goes toward things like maintenance and campus police.
Sayre said the cost of the proposed program would be $1 per student per
semester.
MSAVE is proposing that the initial student fees, estimated to be around
$64,000 for the first year, go toward the purchase of a $25,000 solar
panel demonstration.
The rest of the money would go toward purchasing wind energy.
According to state law, any purchase more than $5,000 where there is
more than one supplier, needs to go through a bidding process.
Therefore, whichever company offers the cheapest wind energy would become
Auraria’s supplier.
Wind energy is produced from wind farms, which are a series of large
windmills that collect wind and store the energy.
When wind energy is purchased, it is stored in a grid where all the electricity
comes from.
“Essentially, it’s increasing the demand for wind power so
it will be more available,” said Faith Winter, an Envirocitizen
employee who works for a better environment with students across the state.
She said purchasing wind energy ensures that more wind energy goes into
the grid, creating a higher demand.
“Wind energy and solar energy prices don’t fluctuate like
natural gas prices,” Sayre said.
“I think it’s wasteful not to do it,” Metro student
and MSAVE member Mercedes Pollmeier said.
Winter said the solar panel display could be in the form of mini lights
on the main walkway, solar tiles on the roof, or a large panel at the
Tivoli.
“It wouldn’t be funny looking; it can usually be incorporated
into the design of the building,” Winter said.
Solar panels absorb energy from the sun, which in turn heat up ions and
create electricity, which is then used or stored in a battery.
Winter also said they want the panels where students can see them and
study them, so they can be an educational tool as well as a step toward
a healthier environment.
“Part of what we want to achieve with this campaign is to educate
students about renewable energy and increase awareness,” she said.
“I think it’s commendable that students are looking into
this,” Wolf said. “But the group needs to be more specific
in terms of maintenance fees and long-term costs.”
Winter said the solar panel purchase is a one-time cost, but as part
of the purchase they would buy a maintenance contract.
She also said they are looking into getting additional grants for the
project from the renewable energy trust fund. The fund could give them
anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000.
“They said it’s a good project and they will look into it
after the vote,” Winter said.
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