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The University of Maine Achieves Governor's Carbon Challenge Goal Reducing Carbon Emissions by 10%

 

 

 

The University of Maine has achieved a 10% reduction in their carbon emissions as a participant in the Governor’s Carbon Challenge and has once again met their Challenge goal.  The University attributes their reduction in overall energy use to a variety of programs focused on efficiency and conservation.  The University has conducted extensive building weatherization which is very likely responsible for a good portion of their decrease.  Overall campus energy use was also down about 1.5% relative to the previous year’s measurement.      

"The commitment to reducing carbon emissions is becoming embedded in our university's culture," says UMaine President Robert Kennedy.  "In addition to the infrastructure modifications and new programs, we are seeing students, faculty members and staff members demonstrate through their actions a real commitment to reducing our energy use.  This progress is encouraging, exciting and reflective of the university community's interest in conserving our natural resources."

Recent developments at the University that will also likely help with carbon reductions and sustainability include:

  • Currently completing the installation of a 600 kW back pressure turbine at its central heating plant.  The turbine will produce about 3 million kWh of electricity per year from thermal energy at the plant that was previously wasted.

  • UMaine, the town of Orono, and Bangor Area Transit (with assistance from the Maine Department of Transportation and a number of other groups) are now operating a free shuttle that connects the UMaine campus with downtown Orono.  Shuttle ridership has been strong and they are optimistic that this program will help UMaine reduce its transportation-related emissions of greenhouse gases.

Other programs which promote sustainability are interwoven in the University such as the Green Campus Initiative, a student-run and auxiliary services coordinated group focused on sustainability and energy use projects in student dining and residential halls.

For the sixth consecutive year, the University was chosen by the Princeton Review, as one of America’s best colleges in the country—“the best 371 colleges.”  It is also recognized for its Climate Change Institute that has pioneered understanding of the human impact on the climate, and the Cooperative Extension’s Maine Compost School, an internationally recognized institution for educating organizations, including Maine-based businesses and towns, about composting.  The University of Maine includes a 660 acre campus in Orono.  With approximately 10,000 people, the University is a community larger than many towns in Maine.            

For more information about participation in the Governor’s Carbon Challenge and Maine’s Environmental Leader programs, contact our Maine Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Innovation and Assistance or call 1-800-789-9802.

 

                                                                                                            September, 2009