April 29, 2002—Eight more Pennsylvania colleges and universities have agreed to purchase wind-generated electricity from the new Pennsylvania wind farms in Somerset County. This brings the total number of Pennsylvania colleges and universities buying wind power to 25, the most of any state in the country.
Allegheny College, Bucknell University, Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Gannon University, Gettysburg College, Juniata College and Swarthmore College are the latest colleges and universities that will purchase a portion of their electricity from newly developed wind-power projects.
Carnegie Mellon University, whose purchase of wind power in the spring of 2001 helped set an example for others to follow, also announced it will expand its commitment to wind power. Penn State University announced it will purchase the output of an additional wind turbine this year.
In 2001, the University of Pennsylvania, Penn State University and Carnegie Mellon University made the three largest retail wind-energy purchases in the United States. The purchases represented 5 percent of the electric usage at each institution.
Community Energy Inc. (CEI) is the leading marketer of wind-generated electricity under the brand “New Wind Energy.” CEI brought the first commercial wind plant online in the competitive Pennsylvania market in 1999.
CEI is a partner with the Pennsylvania Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Policy (PCIEP), an organization comprised of DEP and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Bucknell University, a liberal arts university in Lewisburg, Union County, will purchase one million kilowatt hours of wind energy a year, replacing more than half the electricity it currently purchases from traditional power plants.
Five Pennsylvania colleges and universities—Bucknell, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg and Juniata—are members of Central PA Shared Services Consortium (SSC).
The State System of Higher Education’s 11 member universities are also all purchasing wind energy as part of the State of Pennsylvania’s green power contract.
Wind energy is the world’s fastest growing form of electricity generation, meeting the growing demand for clean, renewable energy. Wind turbines generate electricity with no emissions and no fuel at prices slightly above current generation costs.
For more information on wind farms and how to purchase wind energy, contact New Wind Energy.
