As featured in the Bellingham Herald on 4.26.04

Green Power Vote: Students hope to switch on green power
NWSEED Board Member John Vandenbosche and Executive Director Heather Rhoads-Weaver, Guest Columnists

Bellingham could soon become one of the "green" power leaders in the Northwest and dwarf Seattle residential commitment to being green. The best part is that Western Washington University students and administrators are taking the lead to make it happen.

As featured in the April 3 Bellingham Herald article "Students vote to support 'Green Power,"' students at Western Washington University will decide this week on whether to pay an additional $19 a quarter for the university to participate in Puget Sound Energy's Green Power Plan. What was missed in the article is that this would be the most aggressive effort in the region by a college or university and would raise the bar for the entire region.

As proposed, the total of $700,000 collected each year in student fees to purchase renewable energy certificates would allow PSE to offset 100 percent of main campus electricity use with green power. Although PSE would only register WWU's purchase as one account in addition to the 897 currently enrolled Bellingham customers, WWU would add 12,000-plus students to the list of Bellingham residents paying for green power. This means that combined, enrolled Bellingham customers would be choosing to pay close to $800,000 out of their pockets for green power. That dwarfs the $210,000 that 4,000 Seattle City Light customers pay toward their green-power program. This investment would help Bellingham and other Washington residents to make a strong commitment to renewable energy.

With this aggressive purchase, Bellingham would buy more than 3 million kilowatt hours per month of green renewable energy, making the city the region's second largest purchaser of green power behind Portland.

Not only would this purchase affect WWU's own energy use, but also students and campus administrators will impact the Bellingham community tremendously. The university is providing leadership that will push the region closer to fully diversifying its power supply with clean energy. In doubling the PSE green power program's total monthly purchase to over $100,000 a month from its entire customer base, WWU would spawn a green-power boost for the entire region and encourage other communities to commit to more renewable energy.

While passage of this measure by the students seems certain, WWU's Board of Trustees must also approve the fee increase. One might think, given the "green" character of our region that Washington state institutions like WWU would already be leading the way in such efforts. On the contrary, many regional institutions are behind the curve. Early in 2003, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill passed a referendum to fund renewable energy through a student-fee increase. Student fees there now purchase $200,000 dollars of green energy annually. In Pennsylvania, 25 large and small institutions are in a green-energy race to see who can buy the most. Numerous other schools such as Harvard, University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, University of Colorado, and most recently, Oregon State, purchase some portion of green power for campus energy needs.

As presidents and trustees across the country are finding, such initiatives heighten an institution's profile as an active agent in local communities while building competitive leverage in recruitment. Most importantly in the Northwest, the students of WWU will have made a major impact on the renewable energy market of the Northwest by creating new demand for clean energy.

We urge the Board of Trustees to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to follow the guidance of the next generation and start the ball rolling in the region toward living up to our green character. Let's hope that Western Washington University realizes its powerful place in the region's future.

Everson resident John VandenBosche is a board member for Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (NW SEED) who has worked in the field of wind energy for the past 14 years. Seattle resident Heather Rhoads-Weaver is the executive director of that organization.

Related Links
WWU students vote to back Green Powe; Students vote to pay extra to support alternative energy. Ericka Pizzillo, The Bellingham Herald