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News Release
April 25, 2007
Boise State University Housing Goes Green with Purchase of
Renewable Energy Credits from Local Wind Farm
Boise State University Housing, an auxiliary enterprise of the university which
provides a variety of student housing apartments and residence halls, has agreed
to purchase 150 megawatt hours of renewable energy credits from a local wind
farm to help partially offset the environmental impacts of conventional energy
that is generated for use in one residence hall for a year.
The cost of the credits are in addition to the normal cost of energy and are a
way to subsidize the production of locally produced wind power. As more wind
power becomes available on the grid, there is the possibility of reducing
production from conventional and hydro sources.
Morrison Hall will be the first residence hall in Idaho to specifically purchase
these credits, and possibly in the Northwest, according to state and local
energy experts. Boise State Housing will purchase the credits from Lewandowski
Farms, a small wind farm that operates three wind turbines located off
Interstate 84 east of Boise near Simco Road.
“While this may be a small step, it will be very educational for our students,”
said Jeff Hale, executive director for university housing at Boise State. “We
certainly want to be environmentally friendly, but we believe the larger benefit
will be in bringing awareness to our students.”
Boise State’s campus sustainability committee — known as the Green Team — the
Arbiter student newspaper and Associated Students of Boise State University will
share the $1,500 cost to purchase the energy credits. The credits will be
matched to energy usage for Morrison Hall, soon to be designated as the College
of Engineering Residential College. It is likely that some students who live in
the hall will be involved in wind energy research at the site, Hale said.
“We’re excited that Boise State has gotten involved by purchasing renewable
energy credits,” said Lars Dorr, Lewandowski Farms manager. “Purchasing the
credits from a local project helps ensure that green energy produced in Idaho
keeps coming onto the grid for everyone.”
Lewandowski Farms is Idaho’s first commercial wind farm. Purchasing energy
credits from a local wind farm, and supporting future research and development
of a renewable energy source, was an added incentive for BSU groups contributing
toward the purchase, said Whitney Rearick, manager for facilities and space
planning and chairperson for the campus sustainability committee. Boise farmer
and entrepreneur Bob Lewandowski built, operated and maintained the wind farm by
himself until his death in July 2005. The family then sold the farm in April
2006 to a group of local wind energy advocates that included three Boise State
graduates.
Farm co-owner Todd Haynes, an energy research engineer who works in Boise
State’s College of Engineering, said the farm is only capable of producing a
small amount of wind energy. However, the purchase of the farm has long-term
implications for wind energy research, giving scientists a field site close to
campus for experiments.
Idaho has huge potential for developing wind energy. It is the 13th windiest
state in the nation, Dorr said, but has just three wind farms up and running. By
comparison, California is classified as the 17th windiest state and has the
second highest installed capacity of wind turbines in the country.
Boise State University is home to the Wind Energy Research Laboratory, created
in 2006 with a $500,000 grant from the federal government. John Gardner, chair
of the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering in the College of
Engineering at Boise State, heads up the center, which is a partnership between
Boise State, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Idaho National
Laboratory, the Idaho Department of Water Resources, and other public and
private agencies.
“The goal is to develop new technologies to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel
while also contributing to the development of a local wind energy economic
cluster,” Gardner said.
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Contact: Jeff Hale, University Housing, (208) 447-1001,
jeffhale@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Sherry Squires, University Communications, (208) 426-1563,
ssquires@boisestate.edu
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Last reviewed on
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
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