September 17, 2008

Today: Energy Day

Purdue’s first green building is now under way!  The building will be an addition to the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Building, and will be constructed to meet environmental standards set by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

Four Purdue staff members have been certified as LEED-accredited professionals and are helping to guide the construction for the ME Building.

The West Lafayette campus saves on energy costs by operating its own Power Plant. It’s much cheaper than buying from the utility grid due to the plant’s ability to co-generate electricity and at the same time it creates steam for heating and cooling. To employ alternative fuel sources, employees will be installing a new co-firing boiler that can operate with such products as switchgrass, and byproducts of ethanol and corn syrup processing.
 
TODAY'S EVENTS:

* "Launching a New Green Revolution for Africa." College of Agriculture Brown Bag Lunch. Speaker: Gebisa Ejeta, professor of agronomy. Noon. Dean's Auditorium, Pfendler Hall.

* Voluntary "Campus-Wide Blackout." 4 p.m.

* Public Forum. 4-6 p.m. Lafayette City Hall.

Additional resources:

Visit the Wade Power Plant for today’s Daily Utility Expenses.

Wade Utility Production Information

Residence Halls Utility Meter Competition

Energy Information Administration (Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government)

For more about Green Week, go to www.purdue.edu/green.