Encouraging the Use of Renewable Energy
by Sarah McNair
Renewable power is quickly becoming an important option to fuel the world’s electricity demands. Nonrenewable sources, such as coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear energy, pollute our air and water and destroy natural habitats for plants and animals. Renewable energy sources have less of a negative impact on the environment and include hydroelectric, solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and electricity from municipal solid waste. In the United States, the majority of our electricity is powered by coal, followed by nuclear, natural gas, and oil. Less than 9% of our electricity is generated from renewable sources.
In an effort to encourage organizations and businesses to utilize renewable energy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created the voluntary Green Power Partnership (GPP) for universities, non-profit, private, and public organizations. Aside from the obvious benefit of environmental preservation, organizations in the GPP receive expert advice on green power, tools and resources, credibility, and publicity. Green power percentage requirements are proportionate to the organization’s annual electricity use, with smaller organizations starting at a minimum of 20% and larger organizations beginning at 3%. There are many participants whose energy comes from over 100% renewable sources.
The top 20 colleges and universities in the GPP have collectively purchased enough green energy to power over 120,000 homes for an entire year. The majority of these higher education institutions use wind and solar energy. Included in this list are the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Utah, Oregon State University, Drexel University, Pennsylvania State University, Northwestern University, the University of Phoenix, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Maryland.
Top retail green power purchasers include Kohl’s, Whole Foods Market, Starbucks, Staples, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Safeway, and REI. Most of these businesses use biogas and wind energy. The top federal government participants in the GPP include the Department of Energy, the EPA, the Air Force, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the General Services Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service. Solar, wind, and biogas power the majority of these organizations’ renewable energy usage.
To be sure, organizations can use renewable energies without participating in the Green Power Partnership. The GPP can provide valuable resources to the organizations that populate its ranks but many organizations are utilizing renewable energy independent of the EPA program. At APUS, for example, our latest addition to campus includes a 45,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building that is currently in the LEED certification process. The building includes 99 solar panels on the roof which will assist in generating the power needed to operate the building. The university system is currently constructing another building which is also being built to LEED certification standards. That building will include an entire “solar array,” a total of 1600 solar panels expected to provide nearly 60% of the building’s energy needs.
Tags: Air Force, American Public University System, apus, Best Buy, biogas, Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Energy, Department of Veterans Affairs, Drexel University, Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, green building, Green Power Partnership, Internal Revenue Service, Kohl's, LEED, Lowe's, Northwestern University, Oregon State University, Pennsylvania State University, REI, renewable energy, Safeway, Starbucks, University of Maryland, University of Oklahoma, University of Pennsylvania, University of Utah, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods Market
