NEWS

Contacts:
Ryan Patterson, Energy Outreach Coordinator, CU Environmental Center,
Ryan.patterson@Colorado.edu
Ghita Levenstein-Carroll, Energy Program Manager, CU Environmental Center, ghita.carroll@Colorado.edu
Community Energy, CU Wind Energy Provider, Mona Newton

RESULTS FROM THE CU ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER SPRING RESIDENCE HALL WIND CHALLENGE!

The Environmental Center is proud to announce the Residence Hall Wind Challenge results— a program designed to give students who live in the Residence Halls and Family Housing the opportunity to offset their electricity use with environmentally sound wind energy. The program was available to students from the beginning of spring semester through March 1st.

71 CU Residence Hall Students signed up for the program, raising enough money to purchase 145 megawatt hours of wind generated electricity for their residence hall rooms. This means that 2% of CU Housing's spring electricity demand will now be offset by wind energy. This saves over 250,000 lbs. of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
 
The Environmental Center, with the aid of several sponsors, hosted a drawing for the participants in the Residence Hall Wind Challenge for a Maverick Snowboard, Crescent Moon Snowshoes and $25 gift certificates to Whole Foods.

Drawing winner Anjulie Rao notes, “I’ve never won anything- this is the greatest day of my life! I feel grateful to CU for finally offering wind energy to dorm students where there is always music playing, computers, and other electronics in use. I thought signing-up would be a good way to go against the stereotypical dorm student by making my dorm room environmentally sound.”

CU Environmental Center Energy employee Ryan Patterson expressed his praise for the program. “It is amazing that over 70 students signed up for wind to make a concrete difference for the environment. This contribution to wind energy certainly will contribute to CU’s reputation as a leading environmental school.”

The Environmental Center has chosen Community Energy as the wind provider for this campaign. 

In recent years the vision of using renewable energy and increasing conservation at the University of Colorado has begun to take root. In 2000 the CU student population was the first in the nation to vote to  raise student fees to support wind energy on campus. Shortly thereafter CU’s energy consumption started to drop. In 2003 the CU student government voted to expand the wind purchase to offset 100% of the elecricity needs in the University Memorial Center, Wardenburg Health Center and the Recreation Center.

For questions pertaining to the CU Environmental Center Energy Program, please contact Ghita Carroll, Energy Program Manager for the Environmental Center, at Ghita.Carroll@Colorado.Edu, or by phone at (303) 492-8308.  Additional information on Renewable Energy at CU is also available at www.colorado.edu/ecenter/energy

Sponsors:
Established in 1970, the CU Environmental Center educates, activates, and inspires the campus community to understand and engage in local and global environmental issues. For additional information on the CU Environmental Center, please visit www.colorado.edu/cuenvironmentalcenter.

Sponsors for the Residence Hall Wind Challenge donated goods for the drawing or time and include: Whole Foods, Pixie Maté, Newman’s Own, Venture Snowboards, Crescent Moon Snowshoes, Eco-Natural Solutions, Pangaea Organics, Island Ink-Jet, Wild Oats, Clif Bar and the CU COPIRG Chapter.

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