Duquesne U. is first in Pa. to get energy award
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Duquesne University is the first campus in the state to win the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Award and has decided that all of its future electric power purchases will support Pennsylvania wind power generation.
The Pittsburgh university won the award because it supplies 80 percent of its heating and cooling needs through a university cogeneration power plant that uses natural gas, and a third of the rest of its power through the purchase of renewable energy credits as part of its support for sustainable energy generation.
"We wanted to go with all Pennsylvania wind to support the development of wind power in Pennsylvania, which is better for our local economy," said George Fecik, executive director of facilities management at Duquesne.
According to the university, its ongoing commitment to sustainable energy has reduced emissions of carbon dioxide by more than 11 million pounds, an amount equal to the emissions of more than 1,000 cars in one year.
The university has won four consecutive EPA awards for the "greenest" energy consumer in the Atlantic-10 Conference, and is listed in the Princeton Review's "Guide to Green Colleges."
First Published December 23, 2011 12:00 am
