The facts: Our University currently spends $22 million every year to meet its energy needs. To combat this, our University is constructing heat recovery steam generators to meet nearly half of our energy needs and save $4.3 million in their first year of operation.
Our opinion: In a time of tight budgets, we welcome the construction of the generators and its promise of savings with open arms. And, while the construction will reduce our energy consumption by 30 percent, it should inspire us to do what we can to reduce our own energy consumption.
N.C. State is almost completely self-sustainable. We have our own systems for police, education, housing, dining and government. And, with the University’s construction of heat recovery steam generators, we are taking a step toward becoming sustainable in our energy needs.
Until the construction of the steam generators, the vast majority of electricity used at the University was purchased from Progress Energy. Our energy needs came to cost us $22 million per year. In a time where a recession has departmental budgets in a vice-grip, any promise of savings is welcome.
The initial cost of the steam generators, $61 million, can be jarring and seem counter intuitive in a time of cutbacks; however, the construction entails no risk to the University. The company behind the project, Ameresco, guarantees a return on investment in terms of savings, and will make up the differences if it fails to provide the return. The return expected in our construction is $4.3 million during our first year.
Savings due to progress should always be preferred to savings due to cuts. To achieve a similar level of savings through budget cuts would no doubt have a crippling effect. The generators are a perfect marriage of progress as they are a step forward in the University’s pursuit of sustainability and they promise to save us millions.
The impact of the steam generators construction is not exclusively confined to the University’s pocket books–it promises an impressive environmental impact. The generators will reduce greenhouse emissions by 8 percent, which on the surface doesn’t sound like much. However, on a campus this size, the 8 percent reduction turns into 2,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Saving the environment while saving money—what could be better?
The construction does present a set of concerns, one of them being fracking. Fracking is a process used to expedite the excavation of natural gas. The concerns with fracking have to do with cases where the process contaminated the ground water in the area it was extracted. However, David Dean, outreach coordinator of N.C. State’s Office of Sustainability, says there is no cleaner option for the University.
The construction of the generators does not release us from our own energy-related responsibilities. The money the project will save should propel us to find other ways we can conserve energy around campus. Simply switching the light off or not converting your room into a sauna during the winter months can go a long way. A little conservation here and there from each of us can go a long way and the savings incurred can go even further.
