Green Space

Penn is a champ when it comes to green power

Once again -- for the fifth year in a row -- the University of Pennsylvania has emerged at the top of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's list of green power champions at colleges and universities.

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Penn is a champ when it comes to green power

POSTED: Thursday, May 3, 2012, 6:15 AM

Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist

Penn beat 72 other schools across the country by purchasing more than 200 million kilowatt hours of green power -- power from renewable sources -- during the current academic year.

Penn is a big place with a lot of research and a lot of power needs, so this amount turned out to be 48 percent of the school's overall power usage.

Other schools that purchased less green power -- but that made it 100 percent of their usage - include Drexel, Carnegie Mellon, Allegheny, Oregon State, Dickinson, Catholic University, American University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Santa Clara University, Southwestern and more.

Pennsylvania overall is looking mighty fine. Pennsylvania has more colleges and universities participating in the challenge than any other state. OF the 73 schools, 17 are in Pennsylvania.

EPA officials said Penn's power purchase is equivalent to avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions of about 27,000 passenger vehicles each year.

“By purchasing green power from renewable sources, these 17 Pennsylvania institutions are spurring the development of the nation’s green power market and reducing harmful air pollution,” said EPA’s mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin in a press release. “Their commitment to renewable energy, especially at the University of Pennsylvania, is contributing to the growth in green jobs and a green economy.”

The other 16 Green Power Partners in Pennsylvania are: Duquesne University in Pittsburgh; Dickinson College in Carlisle; Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster; Haverford College in Bryn Mawr; Swarthmore College in Swarthmore; Gettysburg College in Gettysburg; Philadelphia University in Philadelphia; Drexel University in Philadelphia; Juniata College in Huntingdon; Eastern University in St. Davids; Allegheny College in Meadville; Bucknell University in Lewisburg; Mercyhurst College in Erie; Chatham University and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh; and Marywood University in Scranton.

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About this blog

Sandy Bauers is the environment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where she has worked for more than 20 years as a reporter and editor. She lives in northern Chester County with her husband, two cats, a large vegetable garden and a flock of pet chickens.

GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science. Reach Sandy at sbauers@phillynews.com.