Goshen College will be using renewable energy sources to supply all of their electrical needs. The move will keep over 16,000 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each year.
Jim Brenneman, the school's president, announced that the Indiana-based college will be the first major organization to participate in the Green Power program run by their local electrical supplier, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO). This program allows customers of the company to designate that 25, 50, or 100 percent of their energy be produced from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power for a fee.
"What this means for Goshen College is that going forward from today, no more coal, gas or oil will be burned, no more carbon dioxide will be introduced into the atmosphere to provide electricity for our campus," Brenneman said.
This move will reduce the carbon footprint of the liberal arts school by 45 percent. The school currently uses enough electricity to account for an average of 12 tons of coal being burned each year for each student.
The system works when NIPSCO purchases renewable energy certificates (REC's) for participants in the program. These are independently certified by Green-e.
Angela Nelson, manager of public affairs of NIPSCO, donated $5,000 on behalf of the company to the university's Ecological Stewardship Committee for use in green education efforts on campus.
Goshen joined 175 other colleges and universities in signing the American College & University President's Climate Commitment in 2007. This made Goshen the first Mennonite school to sign on to the commitment. The goal of this agreement is to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases created by the electrical demands of the schools.
"We did that because we are very concerned about life on this planet. It was one more way we can care for the world and it was part of our broader ecological stewardship commitment," Brenneman said.
The school, in operation since 1894, has been cutting back its use of electricity and natural gas the last few years, reducing its usage of both by over 25 percent since 2007, bringing the school back to levels of energy use last seen in 1992. Initiatives to bring about this energy reduction included a new geothermal center, monitoring energy use with software and a campus-operated vehicle that runs on used oil from making French fries.
