Penn State Hazleton:
A Green Initiative
By: Matthew S. Tobin
Pennsylvania State University
Energy Engineering
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To: Penn State Hazleton Administrators
From: Matthew Tobin, Energy Engineering major at Penn State Hazleton
Subject: Making PSU Hazleton a cleaner, greener environment.
As an energy engineering student, I constantly ask myself how I can make
the world a better place.
The Penn State Hazleton campus has been in service for decades.
Unfortunately, through the time many of the campus buildings power and heating
systems have become outdated and worn out. With rising costs of energy,
demand for cleaner environment, and massive university budget cuts, it is time
for Penn State to invest in alternative energy technology. Therefore, I propose to
the Penn State Hazleton administration to invest in ‘green’ technology. By raising
awareness and investing in various new systems, the campus will most certainly
save on costs on energy; as well as contributing to a cleaner environment.
This report explains in detail the problem that Penn State Hazleton faces,
and various solutions to the problem. Out of the many solutions that I will cover, I
will elaborate on the one that I believe to be the best investment in Hazleton’s
time, energy, and money.
Very Respectfully,
Matthew S. Tobin
Energy Engineering Major
Pennsylvania State University
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Table of Contents
Cover Letter
Page 2
Contents
Page 3
Abstract
Page 4
Introduction
Page 5
Recommendation
Problem
Page 7
Solutions
Page 8
My Final Recommendation
Page 11
Sources
Page 13
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Abstract
Penn State Hazleton is one of the leading Pennsylvania State University
campuses for alternative energy education. Recently, the Hazleton campus
became nationally recognized for being one of few campuses to offer a bachelor’s
degree on alternative energy.
However, the costs of attending Pennsylvania Universities are skyrocketing
due to recent budget cuts. Therefore, funding for various programs such as these
are going to be tough in the near future. With these rising costs, the university
needs to start saving money. Every year Penn State University spends thousands
of dollars on energy; which mainly includes electricity, heat, and water supply.
Penn State Hazleton has two solutions to this problem. One solution would
be to keep the campus as it stands, with no intervention. In other words, no
changes will be made to the energy systems and Hazleton will continue to run off
outdated systems, and continue to spend an excess amount of money on energy
where it can be ill-afforded.
The second solution would be to invest in renewable energy. This, I believe,
is the best solution. With the numerous advances in modern-day renewable
energy sources, they have become more available and efficient as ever. By using
solar panels, windmills, or geothermal heating systems, Penn State Hazleton could
potentially save thousands of dollars on energy costs. However, Hazleton will not
save near as much money if it does not raise awareness and educate the students
and staff on how to save energy. It sounds like a pointless gesture, but the money
saved by simply turning off lights, computers, lowering the heat, or any simple
task such similar to these can also save on energy while decreasing the electric
bills. With the rising costs of Pennsylvania electricity, the decrease of Penn State
funding, and the demand for clean energy, it would be in Hazleton’s best interest
to invest the time and money in this solution.
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Introduction
In recent months, the United States government made waves in the
Pennsylvania higher education system by approving a bill that would suspend
funding to nearly every college and university in Pennsylvania. According to Penn
State resources, “The budget cuts Penn State's appropriation by 52.4 percent, a
devastating reduction of $182 million dollars.” The 182 million dollars that were
reduced not only affect University Park campus, but every one of Penn State’s
branch campuses will also be affected. On top of that, Pennsylvania electric
providers are slamming residents with nearly a 30% increase on their bills due to
rising costs.
So what can Penn State Hazleton do? Well, we can start by setting an
example for the rest of the Pennsylvania State University campuses. By investing
in alternative energy, dramatically boosting energy awareness to each student on
campus, we can ultimately save thousands of dollars on energy costs. As you can
see here in graphs A, B, and C, the difference between energy usage in the
summer months and the winter months is immense.
A.
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B.
C.
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In the more recent years, electricity, gas, and energy consumption has
decreased in usage. However, not enough change has been introduced so far.
Therefore, the point of my recommendation report is to describe to the
administrators a few ways to continue the decrease in energy usage; through
alternative energy, and raise of awareness.
Recommendation
The Problem:
Penn State Hazleton has been operating for nearly 65 years. Many things
have changed in that time; the exponential increase in energy costs, the demand
for renewable energy, and ultimately a cleaner environment. The problem is that
Penn State Hazleton has little invested in alternative energy, as well as time
invested in raising ‘green environment’ awareness to campus students. Also, a
few of the buildings across campus are using outdated systems which draw a lot
of energy, and waste a lot of it at the same time. For example, I have found from
personal experience that it is likely that the students themselves are primarily to
blame for the annual increase in energy costs. This is due to lack of awareness
and responsibility of the majority of students across campus. However, the lack
of updated systems and inefficient buildings are also a cause of high energy costs.
In conclusion, there are a few solutions that can solve these problems- some
being more complicated than others, but all are very effective.
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Solutions:
President Obama recently made a visit to Penn State University, where he
proclaimed that he and the US Gov’t backed the use and expansion of alternative
energy through the ‘Better Buildings Initiative.’ This is plan that he unveiled to
improve energy efficiency of commercial building space in the U.S. by 20 percent
over the next nine years. With this concept in mind, there are many solutions to
the problems Penn State Hazleton faces that are worth investing in. There are
multiple branches of renewable energy sources which are known as: solar, wind,
geothermal, and hydroelectric power. There are others- but are still in
development and not within practical use at the time.
One of the useful sources of alternative energy is the sun. This type of
energy is derived from the sun’s light and
heat. This type of energy is generally
gathered through solar panels which can
be easily placed on building rooftops or
other structures. Even though solar panel
technology can be costly due to
installation and semiannual maintenance,
they provide a constant source of energy.
However, the level of output may vary,
especially in the North-East Pennsylvania
area where weather and cloud cover can
Solar panels, such as these shown here, can be
easily integrated into a buildings heating and
electrical systems.
be very unpredictable.
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The second option for Penn State Hazleton is to use the power of wind. To
harness this energy source, it involves the use of wind generators. Wind
generators are one of the cheapest, but most reliable renewable energy source.
According to altenergy.org, “people are
realizing that wind power "is one of the most
promising new energy sources" that can serve
as an alternative to fossil fuel-generated
electricity. As of 1999, global wind energy
capacity topped 10,000 megawatts, which is
approximately 16 billion kilowatt-hours of
electricity. That's enough to serve over 5 cities
These wind generators shown here
are massive; the rotor diameter is
likely to be around 100m. Wind
generators are usually found in ‘wind
farms’, where dozens of windmills
potentially lie.
the size of Miami.”(American Wind Energy
Association) So, it is obvious that wind
generators are a useful energy source. If one
were to travel a few miles north to Scranton,
they will likely see a wind farm in that area.
Due to the jet-stream and atmospheric activity,
North-Eastern PA is a productive area for windturbine power generation; especially on top of
the mountains where the majority of NorthEastern PA lies. Since Hazleton is at a high
elevation, wind turbines would be an excellent
renewable energy source. Unfortunately, an airport lies close to Hazleton, and
FAA regulations make it that these wind-turbines cannot be placed on campus.
However, there are alternatives to the large wind-turbines. These smaller
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turbines, as shown in the picture above, are only a few feet in diameter and can
could easily be placed nearly anywhere on campus. These smaller generators can
be used to power 12 volt systems, or any smaller electronic device. A few of these
smaller wind-turbines can easily power computers, lights, and other electronic
devices. With wind blowing quite often in Hazleton, these smaller turbines would
be an excellent alternative energy solution.
I believe that the final useful alternative energy option for Hazleton is
geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is energy generated from heat from the
Earth’s core, and since the core is always hot,
it will continuously produce energy. The only
issue with geothermal energy is the
installation. Research needs to be done to
examine the Geographic’s of the region to
determine if it is suitable for geothermal
energy production. If geothermal energy
production is possible, then a system
installation can be required which can affect
cosmetics of a property, but only for a few
days. For Penn State Hazleton, I would
recommend this being done over the summer
This geyser is an example of
geothermal energy. Harnessing
this energy gives us the ability to
heat/cool water and air systems.
when school is out. If geothermal systems
were to be installed, it would be most useful to supply hot/cold water and air to
student dorms and classroom buildings. Since the majority of heated water is
used for dorm showers, using geothermal energy to heat this water would
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dramatically save on heating costs. Therefore, if Penn State Hazleton region
checks-out for geothermal energy, it would be a great solution.
My Final Recommendation:
After extensive research on numerous forms of alternative energy, I have
come to the conclusion that a combination of all alternative energy sources would
be most effective; along with raising awareness to students and staff on campus.
Even though raising awareness sounds simple and pointless, the effects it could
have on energy costs would be dramatic. According to energy.opp.psu.edu,
“Approximately 40% of Penn State’s power usage is under discretionary control of
the building occupants. Each student can make important contributions to energy
conservation. If each person at University Park saved a penny’s worth of
electricity daily, they would save Penn State almost $200,000 annually and
prevent the release of over 11 million lbs. of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
These are things you can do to save one penny: turn off your computer and
monitor for one hour, turn off a standard desk lamp for three hours, three and a
half hours of operating that compact fluorescent light bulb instead of a
incandescent bulb, reset the temperature setting on your micro fridge one
position higher which will save several penny's a day. Energy conservation efforts
at other universities have reduced energy consumption by 40%, leading to
millions of dollars saved annually. Energy consumption at Penn State has
increased every year over the past 30 years.” Understandably, we are not
University Park, and we do not have nearly as many students as U-Park. However,
the statistics still relate, students account for the majority of energy consumption.
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So, if every student and faculty member took the responsibility to save on energy,
it could still save Hazleton thousands of dollars on energy costs.
I recommend that the money Penn State Hazleton saves on raising
awareness goes to a fund to install various sources of renewable energy on
campus. I believe that the best way to save on costs and harmful emissions would
be to use various renewable energy sources all working in concert. Using solar,
wind and geothermal power will undoubtedly save Penn State Hazleton
thousands of dollars on energy costs, as well as showing the community our
devotion to a better environment. Since Penn State Hazleton is the first campus
to introduce an “Alternative Energy Engineering” degree across all the Penn State
campuses, I believe investing the time in raising awareness and investing money
into renewable energy would be an excellent buffer for that degree. If the
Hazleton were to take on this “Green Initiative”, it will show other campuses how
much can be gained from saving on energy costs. From this point, other
campuses would be wise in following in Hazleton’s footsteps, which could save
millions of dollars in energy costs.
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Sources:
"Alternative Energy Solutions for the 21st Century." Alternative Energy. 15 Apr.
2011. <http://www.altenergy.org/>.
“American Wind Energy Association.” 2006. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://awea.org/>.
"Devastating Appropriation Cut Advanced for Penn State." Penn State LIVE. 15
Apr. 2011. <http://live.psu.edu/story/51840>.
"EMS Energy Institute." Pennsylvania State University. 2010. 5 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.energy.psu.edu>.
"Energy." PSU OPP Energy. 1 Jan. 2005. 1 Apr. 2011.
<http://energy.opp.psu.edu/>.
"Solar Panels." Wikipedia. 9 Apr. 2011. 10 Apr. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_panel>.
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