Drexel University has just announced that it is committing to purchase enough "credits" for wind-generated power to cover 100 percent of its electrical needs.
The deal makes Drexel one of the top 50 purchasers of renewable energy in the nation. (See this EPA list for others in the Top 50, as of July 6, 2010.)
It also places Drexel high on the list of the top 20 colleges and universities that purchase renewable energy. (Click here for that EPA list.) Penn is at the top of the list. Carnegie Mellon and Penn State also rank high.
But it's tough to compare. Penn, for instance, purchases more power (wind) overall, but it amounts to only 48 percent of the power the university uses, according to the EPA. Carnegie Mellon purchases enough solar and wind power to equal 75 percent of the electricity used.
What Drexel is actually purchasing is renewable energy certificates, which "will ensure that 84,268 megawatt hours of electricity will be matched annually with wind energy entering the electricity grid in the United States," according to a Drexel press release.
Because of the nature of the regional electrical grid, specific electrons used at Drexel can't be traced to specific wind projects.
The certificates will be supplied by renewable energy marketer and developer Community Energy, Inc., a Radnor company that specializes in renewable energy development.
What difference does the purchase make? Drexel is happy to elaborate: "Compared to the average generation mix in the national electric grid, the environmental benefit from this purchase is equal to offsetting approximately 60,518 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, the annual impact of which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 12,904 acres of trees or removing 11,571 passenger vehicles from the road, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator."
Other sustainability efforts at Drexel include using biodiesel fuel for shuttle buses, purchasing hybrid and battery-powered vehicles and instituting a free bike-share program. The university also has switched to more efficient lighting and has implemented other energy-saving controls. It uses "ice thermal energy" for cooling -- basically, it involves freezing water at night and cooling air with it by day -- and is big on recycling.
GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science.
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