Protesters Tell Penn State to Stop Using Coal
November 18, 2009 by Suzanne Bopp · 1 Comment
Last week on the Penn State campus, students joined faculty and community members at a rally in front of the university’s coal plant. They called on the university to phase out the plant – which now provides 80% of the energy on campus – and move toward clean energy. 
Penn State’s President Graham Spanier’s agreed to meet student leaders this semester to discuss the topic. Today a panel discussion on Penn State’s energy future will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the Berg Auditorium of the Life Sciences Building.
Penn State is a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Sustainability Partnership Program, which has the school committed to reducing its global warming pollution 17% by 2012.
The protest was a part of a nationwide Campuses Beyond Coal campaign, a joint effort between the Sierra Student Coalition and the Sierra Club to move universities to 100% clean energy solutions.
– Suzanne Bopp
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Just wanted to make a quick correction, the coal-fired West Campus Steam Plant provides the campus with heating and about 6-7% of its electricity. The 80% number is the portion of Penn State’s electricity consumption that is generated at coal-fired power plants on the grid (outside campus).