Ohio University will get half its energy from renewables beginning in December. The university also will achieve its renewable energy goal four years earlier than initially anticipated.
The 2011 Sustainability Plan aimed at 20 percent of energy for the Athens, OH, campus to be provided by renewables by 2020. That goal will be achieved next year. The acceleration was made possible by new purchasing guidelines that were implemented in the interim.
The school also has reduced its water consumption by 30 percent -- 7.7 million gallons -- and was able to reduce energy uses from the central plant by 19 percent from June to September compared to the year-ago period.
Last month, Electric Choice named the most energy efficient colleges and universities. Top honors went to the University of California Irvine. Second was The University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. Other schools noted were The University of Maryland, Columbia University, Stanford University, Quinnipiac University, Iowa State University, Green Mountain College and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
