Two environmental groups on campus will submit a letter today asking Northwestern administrators to invest in cleaner energy and to construct a wind turbine.
The letter, written by members of Students for Ecological and Environmental Development and Engineers for a Sustainable World, will encourage the university to purchase Green Certificates from 3 Phases Energy, a company dedicated to promoting renewable energy.
Green Certificates ensure that power from renewable sources will be added to NU’s electrical grid.
SEED and ESW members said they want the university to purchase the certificates in order to set an example of following more economical energy plans for other organizations.
“We want Northwestern to distinguish the fact that it is buying renewable energy, and that it is contributing to the expansion of renewable energy in the Midwest by buying Green Certificates,” said Tiffany Grobelski, a Weinberg junior and co-chairwoman of SEED.
In the letter the groups also ask the university to consider installing a wind turbine as a way to provide an alternative energy resource and to represent renewable energy usage, said McCormick sophomore and ESW Projects Chairman John Romankiewicz. The 50,000-watt wind turbine would use wind power to generate electricity. It could reduce NU’s annual fossil fuel consumption by 120,000 kilowatt-hours, he said.
“(The wind turbine) would provide for a small percent of Northwestern’s electricity so that it can purchase less fossil fuels,” Romankiewicz said. “This would allow NU to push forward their environmental goals.”
The idea behind the wind turbine came from a project in an Engineering Design and Communication class. ESW formed a team last fall that took on the project and continued to work on it this quarter.
SEED and ESW members said they hope the letter also will give them an opportunity to discuss environmental issues with administrators, including University President Henry Bienen. The letter will be distributed to other student organizations and alumni in hopes of building more support for renewable energy.
“We really just want to encourage awareness about renewable energy around campus,” said Panah Bhalla, a Weinberg junior and SEED co-chairwoman.
SEED and ESW members said they were encouraged to turn in the proposal after Bienen’s statement last fall detailing NU’s commitment to sustainability.
“Investing in renewable energy is the best option for a sustainable future,” Bhalla said, “and we’re hoping that Northwestern will take this step to show their commitment.”
Reach Allan Madrid at [email protected]
