Eastern could be first college to run on wind

Students proposed a $20.89 "wind energy" fee. The school’s president wants it to be optional.

By Dawn Fallik
Inquirer Staff Writer

Students at Eastern University in Delaware County want their college to be perhaps the first to be totally powered by wind – and say they’re willing to fan the initiative with higher tuition costs.

The Eastern Student Government Association passed a resolution in November to support a $20.89 annual "wind energy" fee in an attempt to get the school to buy energy from alternative sources.

"Ideally, we’d reach 100 percent of our energy from wind energy in three years," said Rosabelle McCullough, 20, a member of the Sustainable Peace Initiative, which came up with the wind energy idea and passed it on to the student government.

The SPI students went door-to-door on the St. Davids campus this year to raise almost $3,000, allowing 3 percent of the school’s energy to come from wind sources, said McCullough.

To reach 100 percent wind energy would cost the school an additional $77,000 per year, said David Black, president of Eastern, which describes itself on its Web site as an "innovative Christian university."

There are about 1,450 full-time students on campus, he said, and the fee, if every student paid it, would allow about 40 percent of the school’s energy to come from wind, about the portion used by the dorms.

Black disappointed some students and teachers because he said he would not recommend a mandatory wind fee to the school’s board of trustees. Instead, Black will allow students to "opt out" of the additional energy charge. Tuition at the school is $15,832 per year.

"We all want the same thing – for every student to participate in the fee," said Black. "But we just don’t force goodness; we think everybody should be good."

Wind energy costs more than traditional energy sources – coal, nuclear, natural gas. The students, working with wind plant owner Community Energy Inc., in Wayne, were told it would cost 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, which would be added to the general cost of regular power, which is about 9 cents a kilowatt-hour for total commercial usage, said Michael Wood, a spokesman for Peco Energy.

Eastern can purchase its wind energy directly through Peco, allocating a portion of fuel to come from wind resources. Individuals can also purchase wind power, although residential rates may differ from commercial costs.

A typical residence uses about 500 kilowatt-hours of energy a month, said Irwin Popowsky, the state’s consumer advocate on utility issues.

In addition to the optional fee, Black said the school would try to raise an additional $10,000 through alumni and other contributions. At the very least, he said, the school would find $5,000 to use toward wind energy fees.

Sherrie Steiner, an assistant professor of sociology at Eastern, helped the students organize the wind energy initiative. She thought that implementing a mandatory fee would demonstrate the school’s environmental initiative and was disappointed that it would be optional.

"With each generation, environmental awareness increases," she said. "This whole thing was really about hope, hope for the future."

Robin Weinstein, the student government president, said the students took more than a month to investigate wind energy. The students also made suggestions on how the school could conserve energy throughout the campus, hoping to cut energy usage by 11 percent. Those savings could then be used to buy more wind energy, bringing the school up to 100 percent wind.

Those conservation suggestions may take a bit longer to implement, said Black.

"I think it’ll take a while for this conservation plan to really yield much of a return," he said. "It will incur some capital, for windows and things like that. It’ll be much more complicated than simply remembering to turn out the lights."

About two dozen Pennsylvania colleges and universities are buying wind power for some of their needs. Drexel University purchases about 10 percent of its supply from wind power.

According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, Eastern would be the first college in Pennsylvania – and likely the country – to convert completely to wind power.

"Our students are wonderfully active," said Black. "I’m just more accustomed to them getting arrested for [protesting for] homeless rights.

"But we forget that part of being ethical people is exercising proper stewardship over our environment."

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Contact Dawn Fallik at 610-313-8131 or [email protected].

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/living/education/higher_learning/4659495.htm