Remarks and Speeches
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Sustainable Energy Summit
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May 2, 2009
On behalf of the faculty, students, and staff of the University of Massachusetts Amherst I am delighted to welcome you to the campus this morning. I’m pleased so many people are here bright and early on a Saturday in May. The semester is still in session, but because we are starting at 8:30 and the students completed their Friday night “activities” only a few hours ago, you are likely the only ones roaming around campus at this hour.
It’s a real pleasure for the campus to host the Sustainable Energy Summit again. I applaud the important work that all of you are doing to build a movement for sustainable energy in our region. Since I moved to Amherst last year, I’ve been quite inspired by the vast array of initiatives and advances – on campus and in the region – to support a green environment.
In the few minutes that I have, I’d like to tell you a little bit about what we at UMass Amherst are doing to support sustainability.
Some of you may know that our campus has been a hub of renewable energy research for decades. The first modern wind turbine was built right here on campus and is now en route to become part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. The campus is also home to the longest running wind energy program in the United States -- a program that traces its intellectual lineage right back to that first wind turbine.
Over the years our clean energy research portfolio has diversified. Today it encompasses students and faculty from all parts of campus: the sciences, engineering, economics and other social science, and public policy. I’d like to share a few examples:
- Geosciences professor Ray Bradley was among the contributors to the report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that earned the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize shared by former Vice President Al Gore;
- Microbiology professor Susan Leschine is a co-founder of Qteros, a UMass Amherst spin-off company working to commercialize technology that converts plant waste into ethanol using the Q microbe, which, incidentally, was discovered nearby our very own Quabbin Reservoir. Some of you may have seen recent news that Qteros is hoping to establish a Q microbe manufacturing facility in Springfield – a goal that we wholeheartedly support;
- Chemistry professor S. “Thai” Thayumanavan leads a National Science Foundation research center that has embarked on a quest to better understand proton transfer, a critical component of fuel cells; and
- Economics professor Robert Pollin developed a blueprint for national green recovery that greatly influenced the drafters of the 2009 federal economic stimulus legislation. Pollin’s study concluded that investing in energy efficiency and renewable power will result in about three times the number of good-paying jobs that conventional energy projects can produce.
While UMass Amherst researchers have their sights set on developing the clean energy technologies of tomorrow, our campus planners, engineers and other staff have been quietly making impressive progress of their own, cutting campus greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent, or 38,396 metric tons, since 2004.
The most visible addition to the campus’s portfolio of sustainability projects is our new state-of-the-art combined heat and power plant that we officially opened a few weeks ago. This award-winning central heating and power plant replaces a coal-fired plant built more than eighty years ago. I understand that some of you participated in a tour of the new facility yesterday.
Personally, I am impressed by the scale and efficiency of the plant. It generates both electricity and steam for 200 buildings on campus that encompass nearly 10 million gross square feet of space. It utilizes an advanced co-generation system to achieve optimal efficiencies and adheres to some of the most stringent air quality permit requirements in the United States. And, by recycling municipal wastewater plant effluent for use as process water, we have reduced demand on the local public drinking water system by 200,000 gallons per day.
We’ve taken a comprehensive approach to evaluate the campus’s resource use and identify opportunities for energy savings. We started with an energy audit of all campus facilities. Based on the results of this audit, we implemented a range of efficiency measures that have substantially reduced our collective carbon footprint and cut millions of dollars in annual operating costs.
As part of this program, we replaced 117,000 inefficient light bulbs, as well as ballasts, toilets and other plumbing fixtures.
Today, 56 percent of the campus’s solid waste is being recycled. Dining services purchases at least 20 percent of its produce from local growers. We currently have two photovoltaic installations on campus, and we’re exploring options to expand our solar power generation capacity.
From our research and educational programs to our increasingly energy-efficient facilities, UMass Amherst is committed to sustainability.
Although we have been confronted with serious financial challenges, these times are also very exciting for the campus, the region, and indeed, the entire nation. We have an unprecedented opportunity to build a “green” economy, in which job growth and environmental sustainability are not mutually exclusive, but co-dependent. I am heartened to see that vision prominently displayed here today.
In closing, I want to thank Co-op Power for organizing this Summit, which I understand is the fifth annual event. Congratulations! We are pleased to have you here on campus this weekend and we’ll look forward to seeing you again in 2010.
Thank you and enjoy the day.
