The University is becoming “greener” every day — and for good reasons. More than $4 million in federal stimulus money from the Race to the Top fund, a federal program designed to pay forward-thinking universities, is up for grabs.To qualify for the money, the University must first prove it’s trying to make itself environmentally responsible while competing against every other school in the country.The University is also heavily involved with alternative energy — from buying “greener” technology to recycling programs — in an attempt to prove its responsibility.”LSU uses a variety of alternative energy,” said Bob Pitre, executive director of Facility Services.Some of the campus buses and lawn maintenance corporations used bio-diesel to fuel their vehicles, Pitre said.Another project involves the co-generation plant on campus, which uses steam power to meet 60 percent of campus energy needs.”We use a jet engine, power it with natural gas and super-heat water to create steam,” Pitre said.Using that steam could effectively heat water and buildings without the use of oil or coal, Pitre said.The excess steam runs through a steam turbine, creating additional energy and allowing more water to be chilled, meeting all the chilled water needs of the campus, Pitre said.Facility Services plans to start several projects if the University does get the grant, Pitre said.”The first project would involve re-insulating the water tunnels and pipes that run under the campus, vastly cutting down the energy wasted,” Pitre said.Another project involves converting exterior lighting to LED, cutting the Universities’ energy cost significantly by using longer-lasting and less-costly lightbulbs.  The University is going to continue to become more efficient, wasting less energy as the years continue to pass, Pitre said.”The future of LSU, in terms of alternative energy, is evolutionary, but not revolutionary,” Pitre said.—–Contact Andrew Hanson at [email protected]