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It's Not Easy Being Green | Alumni Interview | Memory Lane

FEATURE STORY (continued) — November/December 2006

It's Not Easy Being Green ...

By Jim Dey

Blowing in the wind

When the wind blows, as it does frequently in east central Illinois, Schejbal often thinks of what it would be like to harness that power to produce energy. That's not just a dream on the UI campus - it will soon be reality.

The University is planning to construct three 1.5-megawatt wind turbines on the South Farms at a cost of $5.7 million, estimating that those turbines could generate nearly 3 percent of the U of I's annual energy consumption.

"I can imagine putting up a lot more turbines and reducing campus fossil fuel consumption," said Schejbal. "If oil prices stay high, I can imagine that in 10 or 15 years ... it would make a lot of financial sense to put these up all over."

The wind turbine project reflects more than just the goal of producing clean, renewable energy as part of the campus sustainability program. Equally important are the project's educational aspects, showing students how wind energy is produced and how the turbines' engineering works, and demonstrating to farmers and electrical utility companies the practical and economic benefits of wind turbines.

In July, the UI Board of Trustees approved the hiring of a North Dakota company to develop plans for the project. The University received a $2 million grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to pay for part of the $5.7 million cost. Another $300,000 will come from student fees, with the balance provided from the UI budget. Depending on the price of natural gas, the turbines could pay for themselves in fewer than 10 years.

UI officials are hoping to have the turbines up and running within two years, but that's not a sure thing.

"The difficulty has become getting the turbines. Companies that produce them, like General Electric, are backlogged," Sullivan said.

When the turbines do go up, it will mark another achievement for the University, as the first utility-scale, multi-wind-turbine project on any university campus in the country, according to Malten.

Given the high price of fuel and concerns about global warming, tough issues lie ahead that will dramatically affect not only people's lives but possibly America's national security.

Ironically, the very attributes that make plants ideal biofuel candidates - their rapid growth, low susceptibility to pests and efficient use of waterĘ- also make them potentially invasive species that could damage the environment into which they are introduced. Moreover, alternative fuels such as ethanol are presently more expensive than gasoline.

Such challenges, while daunting, also create exciting possibilities that have only just begun to emerge.

"At this point, we're doing dozens of things," said Sullivan of the sustainable energy movement. "Eventually, we're going to be doing hundreds of things."

Dey is a columnist and editorial writer for The News-Gazette in Champaign.

WEB EXTRAS

Campus sustainability initiatives www.fs.uiuc.edu

Recycling www.housing.uiuc.edu/living/recycle

Solar Decathlon www.solardecathlon.uiuc.edu

College of Business Webcam