Carnegie Mellon was the trailblazer 5 years ago
About 5 years ago, on May 21, 2001, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) made national headlines when it made the largest retail purchase of wind energy in the U.S. up until that time. CMU made the largest retail purchase of wind energy up until then despite the fact that it only planned to purchase 5% of its electricity from wind sources.
In 2005, approximately 11% of its electricty CMU consumed was green. In 2006, CMU...
...increased its purchase of renewable energy sources (wind power, small hydro power and landfill gas resources) for electricity from 11 percent to 15 percent this year. The university plans to acquire 17 .5 percent of its total power form renewable sources in 2007, and 20 percent in 2008.
At the time of this article, dated April 18, 2002, the University of Pittsburgh was one ofthe few major universities in Pennsylvania that had yet to committ to purchase any renewable energy.
Major universities commited to purchasing renewable energy in PA at that time included:
In 2005, approximately 11% of its electricty CMU consumed was green. In 2006, CMU...
...increased its purchase of renewable energy sources (wind power, small hydro power and landfill gas resources) for electricity from 11 percent to 15 percent this year. The university plans to acquire 17 .5 percent of its total power form renewable sources in 2007, and 20 percent in 2008.
At the time of this article, dated April 18, 2002, the University of Pittsburgh was one ofthe few major universities in Pennsylvania that had yet to committ to purchase any renewable energy.
Major universities commited to purchasing renewable energy in PA at that time included:
Allegheny College
Bucknell University
Carnegie Mellon University
Dickinson College
Franklin & Marshall College
Gannon University
Gettysburg College
Juniata College
Penn State University
Swarthmore College
posted by Barbosa at 8:17 PM
6 Comments:
Pitt can be the trailblazer today by surpassing all other PA universities in the amount of renewable energy it purchases!
About 5 years ago, on May 21, 2001, Carnegie Mellon University (
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That was pretty cryptic, wasn't it? 8^)
Good luck with your campaign.
Altogether, U.S. wind resources are enough to provide several times our current electricity use, although other sources (or storage) would still be needed because of the variability of the wind.
The key ingredient for wind's continued expansion? Continuing the federal wind energy production tax credit (PTC), which reduces a wind farm owner's tax payments by 1.9 cents for each kilowatt-hour of electricity the wind farm generates during the first 10 years of its operation. The PTC is currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2007. If the credit is extended for several years, we will see much greater use of this clean energy resource. You can help support this and other pro-wind laws here.
Regards,
Thomas O. Gray
American Wind Energy Association
www.awea.org
www.ifnotwind.org
Hi Tom, that was a very informative poast. As you can see, I am not an expert on the topic so any information, corrections, advice, tips are greatly appreciated.
If I'm not mistaken, several states have created Renewable Energy Portfolio's (RPS) that force utilities to purchase a certain percentage, which increases over the years, of their electricity from renewable sources. I'm sure the mainanence, as well as the expansion, of the RPS requirements will have a big impact on the future of renewable electricity in the U.S. as well.
Hi Tom, that was a very informative post. As you can see, I am not an expert on the topic so any information, corrections, advice, tips are greatly appreciated.
That's OK, I'm a total newcomer to the world of blogging, so you are way ahead of me there. If I can help out with questions about wind, let me know.
If I'm not mistaken, several states have created Renewable Energy Portfolio's (RPS) that force utilities to purchase a certain percentage, which increases over the years, of their electricity from renewable sources.
I believe the current total is 20 states, plus the District of Columbia. It should be noted that most of these laws have built-in price protection for consumers, to make sure that prices do not rise too high as a result.
I'm sure the mainanence, as well as the expansion, of the RPS requirements will have a big impact on the future of renewable electricity in the U.S. as well.
Yes, it will. A national RPS would also be a strong mechanism to encourage wind.
Regards,
Thomas O. Gray
American Wind Energy Association
www.awea.org
www.ifnotwind.org
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