WWU 17th on EPA list of renewable energy purchasers

The Academic Instructional Center in south campus. Photo courtesy of Matthew Olson

Western Washington University is 17th on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s list of the nation’s top 20 green energy purchasers in higher education.

Western annually offsets 100 percent of its electrical consumption from green sources via purchases of renewable energy credits.

Western was the only college or university in the State of Washington on the recently released EPA list.

The genesis for Western’s renewable energy program began more than seven years ago when a small group of Western students set a goal of having Western offset all of its electrical energy from a 100-percent renewable source. To meet that goal they proposed a student initiative to implement a fee that would offset the cost of purchasing renewable energy.

As a result of their efforts and significant research into renewable energy, Western moved to the forefront of the renewable energy field, becoming the first university in the country to implement a student fee for the purchase of green energy.

The student initiative passed in a spring 2004 election with 84.7 percent approval. The WWU Board of Trustees approved the student fee, which went into effect in 2005 and which allows the university to offset all of its electricity use with purchases from renewable energy sources.