Amelia Davis

Staff Writer

Renewable energy is a long term cost effective way of reducing carbon emissions in homes, businesses, schools etc. One of the most popular forms of renewable energy is solar panels which use energy derived from the sun, and Penn State University is no stranger to renewable energy. Penn State University has been trying to implement better energy usage around the campuses. In 2019, University Park began a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement, working with the Alternative Energy Development Group. The goal of this project is to provide one percent of the campus’s energy usage. When looking at renewable energy at Behrend, we do not qualify for solar panels on a large scale. This is because Behrend’s campus is the northern-most of all the Penn State Campuses. This northern location lowers sun exposure significantly. Secondly, Behrend also has the most inexpensive energy costs out of all the other campuses. So, it would not make sense to invest more money on these large-scale solar panel projects. Instead, Behrend has set other plans in motion to stay energy efficient. Behrend does, however, have a wind turbine on campus that is being used to power the scoreboards for the sports fields on campus. Within the past year, Behrend has begun to implement better energy effectiveness on campus. This is being done with a campus energy audit. Dr. Sherri Mason explained the project as, “Going through campus looking at and evaluating windows, lights, mechanics, heaters, air conditioners, etc. based off of that data, Penn state will move efforts towards energy efficiency.” These evaluations will allow for the administration to determine where to make changes that will benefit the school economically and sustainably. Currently, the windows in the science building are single paneled. This is a big problem because with every window there will always be some kind of energy loss, however, single paneled windows have an even greater energy loss with warm/cool air passing through the windows. There are also plans set in place to replace the outdated boiler in the Otto Behrend Science Building. A new boiler will be able to heat OBS with more efficiency and without the extra noise pollution. These changes are being implemented with the intention of reducing energy loss on campus rather than having renewable energy on campus. Reducing energy usage by increasing effectiveness is just as important if not more than the implementation of renewable energy like solar, wind, or water. Although Behrend does not currently qualify for large-scale renewable energy projects, there are plans to have small demonstrations on campus. The demonstration projects will help promote students to learn more about renewable energy on campus. One of these demonstration projects will be held at Wilson Grove. There are currently plans in place to install solar panels at the pavilion, which can be used to power the lights or charge student’s cell phones. With the anticipated success of this demonstration project, hopefully more small projects can be added to the campus in the future in order to promote more sustainable education on campus.