Green students

Colorado CollegeSustainability through conservation and renewable energy is underpinning the curriculum and inspiring the students at Colorado College, Gary Toushek discovers from George Eckhardt, assistant director of facilities services. Colorado College is a private liberal arts college located at the foot of PikeÔÇÖs Peak in the Rocky Mountains, at the edge of Colorado Springs on 90 acres of land with a campus of two million square feet for the approximately 1,945 undergraduate students.  Founded along with the city in 1874 by US Civil War veteran General William Palmer, its graduates include Lynne Cheney, wife of US vice president Dick Cheney (and their daughters) and former CIA director James Woolsey. Today the president of the college is Richard Celeste, former US ambassador to India, governor and lieutenant governor of Ohio, and director of the US Peace Corps. ÔÇÿScientia et disciplinaÔÇÖ or ÔÇÿacquiring knowledge and living itÔÇÖ is the collegeÔÇÖs official motto, which seems appropriate today with the grassroots movement of ÔÇÿgreennessÔÇÖ rolling through campus life. Most students are from out of state and tend to become caught-up in the concept of sustainability, says George Eckhardt, assistant director of facilities services. ÔÇ£I have a couple of student papers here on energy conservation or renewable energy issues regarding the college, and they come up with great ideas (but not necessarily feasible solutions), and when they get out into the real world they realize that some solutions arenÔÇÖt as easy as they sound. Some students ask for advice on financing quite innovative sustainability projects. TheyÔÇÖre more advanced than the previous generation of students, and soon theyÔÇÖll be dealing with various bureaucracies and corporate budgets in the outside world.ÔÇØ Eckhardt, with a masters degree in mechanical engineering, was hired in 1983 to oversee renovation and construction at the college, when there was little reinvestment in the facilities or the infrastructure, and he began implementing energy conservation projects, which improved comfort levels while lowering the facilities operating budget. ÔÇ£For example, I set about enclosing an open-air ice arena for year-round operation and installed a low-emissivity, foil-like ceiling, which saved nearly one-third of the operating cost of the refrigeration system and added some comfort.ÔÇØ He added and improved insulation in areas such as tunnels carrying high temperature hot water lines that supply heat to the larger buildings, and upgraded lighting throughout a majority of the buildings on the campus, converting from magnetic ballast and T12 fixtures to energy-efficient T8s with electronic ballast. Rather than each building having its own air conditioning units, the college converted to a central system for the campus, sending chilled water to the buildings, a major cost saving. Digital controls were installed in each building to program its mechanical systems. ÔÇ£Water is a big concern in Colorado,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£We have a central computer controlling the campus irrigation system, using mainly non-potable reclaimed water from the cityÔÇÖs treatment plant.ÔÇØScience has been the fastest growing sector of the curriculum, along with environmental science and the studentsÔÇÖ interest in LEED certification for new buildings. Two new science buildings have been constructed since 1988, in addition to the original building constructed in 1961. ÔÇ£Four years ago we built the first LEED certified college science building in the US, which was difficult because early LEED criteria were designed for office/classroom buildings, not laboratories with fume hoods. But it was faculty and student-driven, and since then the Board of Trustees has been very supportive of sustainability.ÔÇØ There is now a campus sustainability council comprised of students, faculty, administrative staff and trustees, which coordinates efforts to avoid duplication by the many ÔÇ£greenÔÇØ student organizations, which have sprung up at the college. As an institution, he says, Colorado College is eager to take a leading role in sustainability in the community and the state. Construction began on a performing arts building last year, and students insisted on it being LEED certified, which increased the budget, and when there was resistance; students circulated a petition and trustees approved a budget for LEED.Eckhardt wrote a request for proposals for a ten-year environmental inventory and sustainability management plan towards carbon neutrality, to recommend how and when the college might achieve it. ÔÇ£I looked at four companies to help us, and two of those were large, one an international firm, which had two of our alumni working for them. We chose a Colorado firm, the Brendle Group, since theyÔÇÖre local and familiar with our situation. The Brendle Group hired one of our graduated students, a former leader in sustainability, whoÔÇÖs coordinating the project. The students are eager to help her; she has respect on campus and she understands the issues.ÔÇØ As part of the sustainability management plan, students are assisting in determining their carbon footprint through a greenhouse gas emissions inventory study. ÔÇ£Water usage is a big factor here, too. A lot of electrical energy goes into pumping our water from the city to the campus and various outlets here.ÔÇØ Major campus buildings, served by a central heating plant, make up about one-third of the campus buildings, and use 80 percent of the total natural gas.A preliminary assessment of major buildings to find potential for energy conservation and improvements identified 15 out of 21 buildings for a mid-level assessment, which will lead to projects over the next few years, budgeted from a capital improvement program. ÔÇ£Hopefully the savings will replenish the funding and be self-generating. WeÔÇÖre looking for three levels of improvements: low and no-cost; medium cost; high cost, and weÔÇÖll approach them in that order.ÔÇØ The college is working on the feasibility of a wind power project, and possibly partnering with other colleges and universities in the state. There are several areas around Colorado ideal for wind power. ÔÇ£Also, we own 300 acres in a great solar zone in the southern part of the state, and solar power is a possibility for the future, to complement the wind power; thatÔÇÖs two sources of renewable energy which could also offset the natural gas we use now for heating the campus.ÔÇØ The college is looking into the feasibility of working with investors who may share in the earnings for a period of time, but eventually the college owns the system and can stabilize its own electricity costs into the future. ÔÇ£And we put those savings back into efficiencies, while managing the demand side of the equation. Where thereÔÇÖs a will thereÔÇÖs a way, and there seems to be a strong will here for conservation and renewable energy.ÔÇØ┬á