In October 2007, CENIC and Collegiate plant manager Mark Gordon contacted Juice Energy, an electricity supplier that specializes in renewable energy, about the possibility of bringing clean power to Collegiate. CENIC and Mr. Gordon met with representatives from Juice throughout the Fall, drawing up a proposal for the business office. Three months later, the Collegiate School signed a contract with Juice. Starting on February 14th, 2008, Collegiate will reduce its electricity-related carbon emissions 100% by purchasing wind energy.

This green power purchase is in the form of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). Wind RECs are produced each time a wind generator puts electricity into the U.S electric grid. To maximize the impact of Collegiate’s green power purchase, our wind RECs come from regions with a higher carbon “emissions intensity,” or places where most electricity is generated by dirty coal-fueled power plants. By supporting wind generation equal to our consumption in these regions, we eliminate the need for these greenhouse gas-spewing fossil fuel power plants to produce the amount of energy we consume, and in so doing, we prevent the emission of 385 metric tons of carbon dioxide every single year. We are also increasing the investment in renewable technologies like wind in the areas that need it most.

While this system isn’t absolutely perfect, investments in renewable energy like ours are helping to change the way the Unites States produces electricity, while simultaneously officially reducing our carbon footprint. Before signing on with Juice, Collegiate’s electricity-related emissions produced the same amount of greenhouse gases as burning 43,753 gallons of gasoline every year. Our switch to renewable energy eliminates all of those emissions, and is like taking 51.1 average American homes off of the electric grid for a year, every year. In November the school pledged to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% in five years. Now the school reduces its electricity-related carbon footprint by 100%. It’s a start.