Editor's Note: This article has been corrected. See below.
Though Chico State is claimed to be one of the greenest college campuses, until recently the majority of its energy came from non-renewable energy sources.
As of April 1, the juice that runs Chico State has been coming from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, said Halli Bovia, university sustainability coordinator.
PG&E uses significantly less coal-based power than the university's former energy provider, Arizona Power Supply, according to their Web sites.
Arizona Power Supply uses non-renewable sources of coal and natural gas for more than two-thirds of their energy mix, according to the APS Web site.
But now more than half of the resources used in the current PG&E power mix are climate neutral and/or renewable, according the PG&E Web site. Nuclear power and large hydroelectric power make up the greater part of the climate neutral energy.
"On average, approximately 50 percent of the electricity delivered to the 15 million Californians we serve emits no carbon," according the PG&E Web site.
In addition to the power Chico State purchases, approximately 7 percent of its energy comes from solar panels installed on the roofs of Acker Gym and Yolo Hall, Bovia said.
The solar panels, which were installed in 2006, can produce about 300 kilowatts of energy an hour on a sunny day, while average university usage is about 4,500 kilowatts an hour, she said.
Her goal is to move toward increased energy efficiency, reducing emissions, and implementing more renewable energy sources.
"It's important to realize that sustainability is a moving target," Bovia said. "It will be difficult to ever reach there; we're just always going to be striving further and further for it."
Though complete sustainability is not currently a viable option for the university, many groups, projects and people are pushing to help conserve energy.
The Alliance to Save Energy's Green Campus Program works to save energy around campus through a multitude of strategies and events.
Green Campus is actually funded by ratepayers of PG&E and is part of a larger national organization with six branches in California, said Mark Stemen, faculty adviser. There is a good reason the power company sponsors a club working to save energy.
"It's cheaper for them to provide energy by getting others to conserve than it is to build more power plants," Stemen said.
The program works to get college students thinking about energy savings, both on campus and in their own lives, he said.
"If you give people the information, they will act in the right way," Stemen said. "That's what this Green Campus is about - the monstrous energy savings and showing people the way to a sustainable future."
Green Campus is heading a variety of power saving programs.
The list includes an energy conserving challenge, a conservation competition, the Sustainability House, an energy-efficient residence hall, and Power Save - a computer program that puts machines in a low-energy sleep and helping conduct energy audits, said Shannon York, director of Green Campus.
Making vending machines around school more energy efficient is another project the group is working on. There are currently three Vending Misers - sensors attached to vending machines - used on campus, which power down the lighting when no one is around - and another 10 to be installed this semester, York said.
The Vending Misers were purchased with some of the money from a $50,000 rebate the group received from PG&E for the energy savings they generated with the power management software, she said. The money is used for a variety of sustainability projects around campus, including the misers, which cost about $100 each, but lead to $100 savings a year.
"After we buy the misers, we probably have about $30,000 left," York said. "We don't want to use it for frivolous things; we want to use it for more energy savings for the university."
A main focus of Green Campus is getting students to apply what they learn in their daily lives.
"It's all about behavior changes with the students, that's what it starts with," said Haley Gilmore, Green Campus secretary and treasurer. "We want students to take what they learned from us home and start implementing power management software on their own computers, using power strips, turning off the light and using natural light."
Megan McCourt can be reached at mmccourt@theorion.com
The article incorrectly stated that PG&E uses about 36 percent less coal-based power. The Orion's reporters strive for accuracy. We recognize that mistakes will occur, but we treat every error very seriously. If you feel a correction needs to be made, e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@theorion.com
Be the first to comment on this article!