Trustees outline plan to reduce carbon footprint

Author: Leslie Lim

At last weekend's meeting of the Board of Trustees, the College reaffirmed its commitment to making on-campus power production more environmentally friendly. Director of Environmental Affairs Nan Jenks-Jay announced Saturday that the Board had approved a recommendation to construct a biofuels plant on campus that will reduce the College's carbon dioxide output to pre-1990 levels by 2012.

The plant, which will replace a large portion of fossil fuel use with wood chips, will be attached to the current Service Building near McCullough Student Center and will reduce the College's greenhouse gas emissions by 12,500 metric tons annually. This advance represents a significant step toward reducing the College's ecological footprint, or its impact on the environment through the use of natural resources. By using biofuels, the College stands to cut in half - from two million gallons per year to one million - its use of "number six" fuel, a particularly pollutant-heavy industrial-grade fuel oil.

Facing an estimated cost of $11 million, the College plans to secure loans and apply for state grants to finance the project. Construction is set to begin in the spring of 2007, with the plant coming online in the fall of 2008.

The plant, according to those involved in the planning process, reflects the College's objective to move away from fossil fuels towards using renewable alternatives as part of a commitment to a sustainable, local economy. Long-term goals for the plant point to using wood chips harvested in an environmentally-friendly method from local resources.

Once online, the plans will reduce the College's carbon footprint by 30 percent. "The College has long been concerned about its carbon footprint and its effect on global warming," said Jenks-Jay in a press release. Jenks-Jay is also part of the Carbon Reduction Initiative, a group of students, faculty, staff and administrators that has worked on the biomass project for several years.

In a statement adopted unanimously, the Board endorsed the Carbon Reduction Initiative Working Group's goal of "reducing College greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent below 1990 levels by 2012." Because of recent growth in the College's energy needs, accomplishing this goal will require a reduction of 35 percent from the 2000 - 2001 fiscal year.

The plant will also have financial advantages for the College in the long term. With a plant that relies on less-expensive local resources, the College will also not be subject to rising oil prices. "It has the potential in the long run for bringing real dollar savings to the College," said Secretary of the College and Dean of Planning John Emerson.

The College emphasized in its release that the new plant will provide an opportunity for economic cooperation between the College and local businesses, since the facility will require roughly 20,000 to 21,000 tons of chips per year to meet the school's energy needs. "Our search for suppliers of wood chips who use environmental principles and practices is another indication of our desire to work together with the greater community in Vermont, the Northeast and beyond to create a greener future," said Jenks-Jay. "Our hope is that the College's entry into biomass will greatly stimulate the growth of the local, sustainable wood chip market and bioenergy economy in Addison County and Vermont."

The current plans originated several years ago, explained Executive Vice President and Treasurer Bob Huth. "The project occurred as a result of a winter term course in 2003 that [Luce Professor of International Environmental Economics] Jon Isham and [Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry] Lori DelNegro taught that identified an inventory of carbon-producing activities of the College and outlined ideas for improvement," said Huth. "This led to the Carbon Reduction Working Group that Nan Jenks-Jay helped to create."

President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz stressed the College's leadership in renewable energy. "Middlebury has taken a national leadership role on the issue of carbon reduction among higher education institutions, and has a history of promoting sustainable economic development in Vermont," said Liebowitz. "The biomass plant exemplifies the College's longstanding commitment to the environment not only as an academic subject but also as an integral part of the institution's operations. It reflects the significance we place on the local economy as well."