Southern Oregon University Students Lead Charge For Renewable Energy

Skiers and snowboarders can reduce environmental impacts of recreational travel by adding a SkiGreen Tag to their lift ticket purchase

Ashland, OR – (Feb. 20, 2008) – Southern Oregon University (SOU) has joined with the non-profit Bonneville Environmental Foundation to help reduce the negative effects of global warming pollution. SOU is one of the first universities in the nation and the first in the state to offset 100 percent of its electric and natural gas use with clean, renewable power by purchasing Green Tags from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF).

Since a campus-wide vote by the student body in April 2007 approved a “Green Energy Fee,” a small $8 fee per term was added to tuition. This program will generate enough revenue to support the purchase of BEF Green Tags that spur the development of renewable energy power equivalent to all of the annual electricity used by every single OSU facility. Additionally, SOU’s purchase will create reinvestment dollars to be directed towards a new renewable energy project within the Ashland community.

A student coalition dedicated to encouraging sustainable energy sources on campus – Students for a Sustainable Future – sponsored the initiative by asking students to take responsibility for their own actions. The result was widespread campus acceptance of the project.

“By passing the Green Energy Fee with a majority of the voting student body, SOU demonstrated its commitment to curb the advance of climate change, build a clean energy infrastructure and encourage regional economic development,” said Jonathan Eldridge, vice president for student affairs at Southern Oregon University.  “We’ve always tried to take a leadership role within our community and this program will allow us to become a leader in sustainability and be an example for other universities.”

Using annual energy consumption data for the university, BEF calculated that approximately 17,700 Green Tags, or renewable energy certificates (RECs), are required annually to offset campus electricity and natural gas. One Green Tag represents 1,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy generated for the electrical grid by a wind or solar-based renewable energy facility. BEF guarantees the quality of its Green Tags by meeting strict environmental standards and through Green-e, a third party certification program.

SOU’s annual Green Tags commitment will reduce approximately 10,850 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, equivalent to taking nearly 1,860 cars off the road or supplying approximately 1,476 homes with clean and renewable sources of power.

“It’s not often that we see this kind of awareness and realization from students, joining together to donate time and money to effect change,” said Paige Prewett, outreach coordinator for BEF in Ashland, Ore.  “SOU is harnessing the power of its students, and as the program continues, we anticipate the number of Green Tags needed to cover campus-wide energy use will decrease annually due to successful conservation strategies recently employed by SOU Facilities Management.“

As the largest energy user in Ashland, SOU is modeling its Green Tags purchase after the Ashland Renewable Pioneers program, a partnership between the City of Ashland and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation that enables Ashland residents and businesses to support green energy.

About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University is a contemporary public liberal arts and sciences university located in Ashland, Ore. Named a “hidden gem” of higher education by the New York Times, SOU offers a challenging and practical liberal arts education centered on student learning, accessibility, and civic engagement that enriches both the community and bioregion. Southern Oregon University has been designated a Center of Excellence in the Fine and Performing Art by the Oregon University System. With a student body of roughly 5,000 students, the University addresses regional needs through its academic programs, partnerships, public service, outreach, sustainable practices, and economic development activities. For more information, please visit www.sou.edu or call 1-800-482-7672.

About Bonneville Environmental Foundation
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), a Portland, Ore.-based nonprofit organization, was established in 1998 to restore watershed ecosystems and further the development and use of new renewable energy resources. Through revenues generated from the sale of green power products, BEF funds projects that restore damaged watersheds and support new renewable energy projects from solar, wind and biomass. Revenues generated from its sales of Green Tags directly support additional new watershed restoration and renewable energy projects such as the national Solar4RSchools program. More information is available at www.greentagsusa.org and www.solar4rschools.org.