EPA Recognizes Duquesne for Largest Green Power Purchase

Duquesne has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a 2012-2013 Individual Conference Champion of the College & University Green Power Challenge for using more green power than any other school in the Atlantic 10. This marks the sixth consecutive year the University has been named the A-10 Individual Conference Champion.

Since April 2006, EPA’s Green Power Partnership has tracked and recognized the collegiate athletic conferences with the highest combined green power purchases in the nation. The Individual Conference Champion Award recognizes the school that has made the largest individual purchase of green power within a qualifying conference.

Duquesne beat its conference rivals by using more than18 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power, representing 49 percent of the school’s annual electricity usage. The University purchases renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Direct Energy, which helps to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the campus’ electricity use.

“Being named Individual Conference Champion for the sixth year in a row shows that Duquesne is committed to doing this over the long term,” said Rod Dobish, executive director of facilities management. “We are committed to doing the right thing and to purchasing energy that’s right for the environment. We want to do the environmentally responsible thing for the next generation.”

According to the U.S. EPA, Duquesne’s green power use of more than 18 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the electricity use of nearly 2,000 American homes annually, or the CO₂ emissions of nearly 3,000 vehicles per year.

“The EPA applauds Duquesne University as the Atlantic 10 Conference Champion for the sixth year in a row in the College and University Green Power Challenge,” said Blaine Collison, director of the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. “By using wind energy to supply close to half of the campus’s electricity use, Duquesne is reducing harmful air pollution and taking a leadership position on the environment.”

Thirty-two collegiate conferences and 76 schools competed in the 2012-2013 challenge, collectively purchasing more than 2.2 billion kWh of green power. In order to qualify, a collegiate athletic conference must include at least one school that qualifies as a Green Power Partner, and the conference must collectively use at least 10 million kWh of green power annually.