Though the University has long focused on increasing energy efficiency, these efforts only recently have turned toward exploring renewable energy options. This movement has been stimulated by student groups, including the Brown Environmental Action Network and the Undergraduate Council of Students, as well as Providence's City Council.
Because its focus has been augmenting energy efficiency - by using upgraded oil and gas technologies, for example - the University does not currently purchase any renewable energy, such as solar or wind power. "The environmental impacts in the near term are the same (for both renewable and efficient energy sources) because fewer emissions have to be produced by dirty (power) plants," said Kurt Teichert, resource efficiency manager for Facilities Management.
But Teichert said renewable energy is important for economic and environmental concerns. Renewable energy is much better for the environment, and it also "offers a much more stable energy cost," he said. While energy plants require construction costs and the use of fossil fuels, renewable energy sources such as wind farms only require construction costs.
Brown has long been interested in "investigating viable ways to incorporate renewable energy into our portfolio," Teichert said. The Urban Environmental Lab was installed with solar panels and now has photovoltaic panels to provide energy for heat.
Recently, students have also taken up the cause.
The Undergraduate Council of Students passed a resolution April 5 calling for the University to purchase 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2010. The same resolution also supported a $25 opt-out student fee to subsidize the purchase of this energy.
The University has not solicited students' opinion on renewable energy in the past, but recent evidence shows that students are concerned about the issue. In a March UCS poll, 77.4 percent of respondents said they would support the University if it spent money to obtain its own source of renewable energy. "Up until this point there hasn't really been a campaign that has mobilized the student voice," said Aden Van Noppen '09, a member of BEAN. She added that "students really want this."
Van Noppen described the University's current energy policy as a "kind of non-existent conservation effort that isn't really doing anything."
The UCS resolution supported a $25 opt-out fee instead of a mandatory fee because "UCS was much more likely to pass it if it was opt-out," Van Noppen said. If the University commits to the $25 opt-out fee, the money will most likely be put toward Renewable Energy Certificates, Van Noppen said.
"That's great because it is still putting renewable energy on the grid," Van Noppen said. If no undergraduate students were to opt out of the fee, there would be enough money for the University to buy 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources, said BEAN member Jenna Horton '08.
"Our sense is most students won't opt out," Van Noppen said.
In addition to the efforts of UCS, BEAN has started the emPower campaign to increase student awareness and participation as well as set goals for renewable energy use by the University. The purpose is "to start getting the ball rolling on renewable energy as we currently purchase zero percent," Horton said.
Support for renewable energy has also come from the City Council, which approved an ordinance in July committing the city to purchasing 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2010. "Brown as a progressive institution should be setting an example rather than lagging behind," Horton said.
"The goal of 25 percent is definitely possible; whether that money is actually allocated (by the University) is another question," Horton said, adding "at the very least I hope the (emPower) campaign gets us somewhere."
Funding renewable energy
The price of renewable energy varies greatly "depending on which renewable source it is associated with," Teichert said. The current average cost for RECs is four cents per kilowatt hour, Horton said.
Teichert said energy from existing plants in the Midwest is cheaper than energy from recently constructed local sources. Over the next five years, the supply is going to be tight, he said, adding that "once these plants are built and people realize there are not a lot of reasons to oppose these plants, development will increase."
There are many options for purchasing renewable energy. RECs allow the buyer to "claim credit for environmental benefits of that renewable energy source," Van Noppen said. The buyer "pays the cost difference between conventional energy and renewable energy," she said, adding "as conventional prices go up, the price of RECs should go down."
Buying RECs increases the demand on the market for developing more renewable energy sites, Teichert said.
Van Noppen also acknowledged this effect. "The more larger entities like Brown invest, the quicker the price will go down," she said. While RECs are "not much of an investment," Van Noppen said, "sometimes they're best in the short term."
Another option is to create a long-term contract with a new energy company. As with RECs, the University would pay the difference between the renewable energy and conventional energy prices. Van Noppen said the contract is essentially giving the energy company a loan, but that as conventional energy prices go up, "they could be paying the University a check."
The Environmental Task Force has advocated for this longer-term option and is currently looking into investing in a wind power plant to serve as a financial hedge, said Kate Brandt '07, a member of the task force.
Teichert also said installing renewable energy sources on University property could be another option.
However, not everyone supports the University's potential purchase of renewable energy.
During the Brown University Community Council meeting on April 11, Michael Williams '08, an associate member of UCS and a member of the BUCC, advocated spending the money generated from the opt-out fee toward research on renewable energy rather than making renewable energy purchases.
"(The University) can do a lot more because of its institutional resources that can be augmented by the money (it) would put into renewable energy. ... We can outweigh what we could do by purchasing renewable energy," he said in an interview with The Herald.
In response to Williams' suggestion, Horton said, "I think research is great but in terms of a timeline that is going to be at least five years down the road. ... The idea is we need to take steps now."
Many other schools have also been changing their policies regarding renewable energy, according to Horton. Harvard University recently passed a resolution in support of a similar opt-out proposal, while Duke University has announced that it will match any funds students raise up to a certain kilowatt hour.
