Despite the many green initiatives Wake Forest University has spearheaded, there remains a lack of significant renewable energy presence in ‘the forest.’
In reality, similar to many other universities, Wake Forest is dedicated to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and has a goal to be carbon neutral by 2040, according to the Office of Sustainability. Sustainability efforts on campus have taken a multitude of forms, but the lack of solar energy on campus is perhaps one of the most notable absences in the realm of emissions.
In order to understand why solar energy on campus is limited, efforts that the university has taken to reduce emissions must be examined first.
According to data collected by the university since 2007, university-wide carbon expenditure dropped 47% in the last twelve years, largely due to energy efficiency efforts spearheaded by Campus Facilities. Initiatives like increased insulation in buildings, LED lighting, automatic sensors, and other building improvements have been the main factors behind carbon reduction.
While Lindsay Batchelor, Director of the Wake Forest Office of Sustainability, is ecstatic about the progress that’s been made, she says that the remaining 53% of carbon emissions will likely be the hardest to reduce.
“Once you cut off anything that would be considered a low-hanging fruit then you get to the harder stuff,” Batchelor said.
One of the most obvious ways of reducing carbon emissions outside of energy efficiency efforts is the utilization of renewable energy. Given Wake Forest’s location and climate, as well as financial considerations, the best renewable energy option available both on and off campus is solar energy.
However, multiple factors make it incredibly difficult for the university to install significant amounts of solar energy on campus.
The number one culprit? Duke Energy.
As the largest provider of electricity in North Carolina, Duke controls all of the energy-related infrastructure Wake Forest is allowed to build and limits renewable energy efforts in a couple of different ways.
Dr. Stan Meiburg is the Executive Director for Energy, Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest. Prior to working at Wake Forest, Meiburg worked for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 39 years and served as the Acting Deputy Administrator from 2014-2017.
Meiburg explained that Duke Energy limits renewable energy efforts through control of nearly the entire energy market in the state of North Carolina.
“Generally, what happens in non-monopoly states is that you have independent renewable energy producers who will build a renewable energy plant and sell the electricity back to the grid,” says Meiburg. “[In contrast], in a …….
Source: https://wfuogb.com/17703/environmental-science/solar-energy-from-a-foreign-land/