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Environmental Studies Department |
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Campus Environmental Issues CommitteeFebruary 28, 2002
Members of MPIRG, including Brendan Bell and Bernadette Miller, made a presentation of their proposal that Macalester College should take advantage of a new state law which requires energy producers, such as Xcel Energy, to make available to customers the option to request that 10 percent of their energy come from renewable sources, primarily wind energy. The first presentation focused on the sources of electrical energy in Minnesota. EPA data indicates that 62% of Minnesota’s electrical energy is derived from coal-fired power plants, and 30% comes from two nuclear plants. Of the top 6 “dirtiest” coal plants, 5 are owned by Xcel Energy. Older plants were “grand fathered” in to the clean air laws if they were built prior to the 1970s. Important health considerations of coal-fired plants include (NOx and SOx) emissions that irritate respiratory systems, and contribute to acid precipitation, and particulate pollution. Wind energy costs have dropped by about 85% over the past 20 years so that wind energy can now be nearly cost-competitive with other conventional energy sources. Some estimates indicate that wind could supply 20% of current US electricity demand. Overall, Minnesota ranks 9th in the US in wind energy potential. Environmental concerns linked to wind energy include (1) bird deaths, (2) erosion from construction of windmills, and (3) visual blight on the landscape. The MN Energy and Security Reliability Act requires that by 2015, 10% of Minnesota’s energy should be derived from renewable sources, such as wind. It requires utilities to offer their customers a renewable energy rate option, called “Green Pricing.” Customers can designate a certain percentage of their energy be derived from renewable sources and be charged a higher fee proportionate to the amount derived from renewable. Purchases can be made in 100 kW blocks. The current proposed price is 2.5 cents/kilowatt hour more than the 5.1 cents/kilowatt hour for conventional electricity, or approximately a 50% price premium for that renewable energy. Macalester uses about 12 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, the proposed 10% switch to renewable would sum to about $30,000/year additional cost, this is in comparison to about $610,000 that Macalester currently spends on electricity. It would work out to a cost of about $16.60/student/year. David Bergstrom, Mechanical Systems Manager of the Physical Plant, and Mark Dickinson, Director of the Physical Plant, then made a presentation in which they discussed electricity use by Macalester College. Olin Rice Hall uses about 22% of the College’s energy, mostly due to the ventilation hoods which are needed in labs that use chemicals. A second major energy drain is the Campus Center. They reiterated that Xcel Energy is the soul source of electricity for the College and a source of heating fuel (natural gas) as well. Macalester College has incorporated energy conservation into the design of new and renovated buildings, for example, the purchase of non-standard ventilation hoods which cost more, but waste less energy. Macalester qualifies for a one-time rebate on these purchases to defray the cost, which is paid to Macalester by Xcel Energy. They pointed out that the overall energy demand for Macalester College has been increasing over time, but this is mostly due to new construction and increased use of energy using appliances. The energy/square foot of building space has been declining over time due to the energy-saving measures Macalester has adopted. David had contacted Xcel Energy prior to the meeting, but learned that the representative was not yet well informed about the law because the pricing structure has still not been formalized by the Public Utilities Commission. David pointed out that about 2% of our energy source is currently from wind generators. The Macalester budgeting process includes several steps. First, Physical Plant predicts the energy demand, which varies with the temperature and other factors. Second they try to predict the cost of the energy, and they have to build in a variable factor as costs can vary tremendously. This then goes to the Long Range Planning Committee and ultimately into the College Annual Budget. No students serve on this committee. There was a consensus of those present at the meeting that (1) as part of its commitment to the Talloires Declaration, Macalester College should take advantage of this new law and (2) that the $30,000 cost to the College was not exorbitant, and that the money could be found within the overall budget. Submitted by Peter W. Vaughan, Acting Director of the Environmental Studies Program. |
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