The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and Pennsylvania State University in University Park were the top three purchasers of green power among the 54 institutions that took part in the Challenge.

The competition among colleges and universities is intended to encourage institutions to use renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas and low-impact hydropower to provide the energy to run their campuses.

Topping the list for the fourth year in a row was the University of Pennsylvania. As of April 19, it had purchased more than 192 million kilowatt hours of green power in 2009-10. That amounts to 46 percent of the university's power purchases. The EPA says that in the last few years, Penn's green initiatives have enabled the school to reduce its peak electric demand by 18 percent. Penn's long-term commitment to green power will help make possible the construction of a 12-turbine, 20-megawatt wind farm in Pennsylvania.

Carnegie Mellon acquired 86.8 million kilowatt hours of green power in 2009-10, which represents three-quarters of its energy consumption. The university "continues to seek ways to reduce its carbon footprint with pilot renewable generation on campus and its recent conversion from coal to 100 percent natural gas firing of the boiler plant owned jointly with other Pittsburgh institutions," the EPA says.

Penn State acquired 83.6 million kilowatt hours of green power in 2009-10, about 20 percent of its total energy consumption.

The Green Power Challenge also categorizes participating schools by athletic conferences and recognizes the top conference in acquiring green power.

Led by Penn, the Ivy League was the conference with the most green power purchases. Its three participating schools--the others were Harvard and Yale universities--purchased 225 million kilowatt hours of green power.

The Big Ten, with four participating universities--Penn State, Northwestern, Ohio State and Iowa--has the second-most green power purchases: nearly 160 million kilowatt hours.

Three participating schools acquired enough energy to account for more than 100 percent of their energy needs. At the top of this list is Southern Oregon University in Ashland, which in 2009-10 acquired 33.3 million kilowatts--287 percent of its usage.

The other schools acquiring more green power than total energy usage: The University of Southern New Hampshire, Manchester purchased 17.5 million kilowatt hours, or 146 percent of the school's energy consumption. Colby College, Waterville, Maine, acquired nearly 16 million kilowatt hours, which represents 103 percent of its needs.

The 54 schools in the 2009-10 Challenge represent 26 athletic conferences. The Challenge's total annual green power usage of more than 1 billion kilowatt hours has the equivalent environmental impact of avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of nearly 160,000 vehicles.
by Mike Kennedy

• 98: Number of kilowatts in the solar voltaic system that La Salle Catholic College Preparatory in Milwaukie, Ore., has installed on its roof. The panels are expected to provide about 10 to 20 percent of the school's power.

Source: The Portland Oregonian

MONEY GRANTED: We all want to be green. We all want to design, build and manage healthful educational facilities that serve the community and the environment....However, the initial costs of creating a green school can be higher for state-of-the-art technologies. Read the entire article.

PHOTO FINISH: Solar power can reduce an education institution's dependence on the utility grid by harvesting energy naturally, and lower pollutant emissions by decreasing demand. Read the entire article.