Last
spring, in the largest student voter turnout in University of
Colorado-Boulder history, students voted by a 5 to 1 margin to
increase student fees by $1 per semester for 4 years to purchase
wind power from Xcel Energy's Ponnequin wind farm. The increase
in fees will raise $50,000 per year, enough to purchase the output
of an entire wind turbine (2 million kWh per year), making CU-Boulder
the largest university purchaser of wind power in the nation!
This clean, renewable source of energy will lower campus emissions
of CO2 by 2.8 million pounds every year.
THE
ROAD TO WIND POWER
In the beginning of spring semester, the CU Environmental Center
wrote a proposal to the student government (UCSU) to fund the
additional cost for wind power, but this was turned down. The
Environmental Center then decided to put a referendum question
on the ballot for the spring 2000 elections, giving students the
opportunity to vote on a fee increase to support clean energy
produced by wind. A group named Clean Energy Now! was created
to run the campaign and consisted of students, volunteers, Environmental
Center staff, and staff from the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies.
After
collecting the required 1,000 signatures to get the referendum
on the ballet, the group began campaigning three weeks prior to
the election. To pass, 15% of the student population needed to
vote in favor of the referendum. This was a steep hill to climb
- in the past, only 11% of the population voted at all. Aware
of the challenge that faced them, Clean Energy Now! prepared a
large-scale campaign. They made posters, placed ads in the student
paper, wrote letters to the editor, sent out press releases, lead
class discussions, chalked sidewalks, distributed fliers, and
handed out two thousand pinwheels to symbolize wind power. During
the week of elections, Clean Energy Now! constructed a "CU
wind farm" comprised of hundreds of pinwheels in the center
of campus. Next to the CU farm stood a seven-foot tall wind generator
donated for use during the campaign.
A
VICTORY
The campaign was a huge success and students' votes showed an
overwhelming amount of support of wind energy, with 5,178 in favor
and 1,096 opposed - the largest margin of any referendum on last
spring's ballot. Thanks to the efforts of students, the University
of Colorado at Boulder is now the largest university purchaser
of wind power in the nation. Ralphie, the CU Buffalo emblem, is
now proudly displayed on one of the wind turbines at Xcel Energy's
Ponnequin wind farm in honor of the students' efforts and leadership
in the clean energy arena.
The
clean, renewable electricity generated by the turbine will reduce
campus emissions by about 1,400 tons of carbon dioxide, 14,000
pounds of sulfur dioxide and 10,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides
each year. The Environmental Center hopes this is just the beginning
for clean energy use here at CU, as well as a model for other
universities and organizations to follow.
Ghita
Levenstein is the Energy Coordinator at the University of Colorado
Environmental Center. She can be reached at tel: 303-492-8308;
email: ghita.levenstein@colorado.edu.
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