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Saskatchewan slowly going green
Derek Leschasin
Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: News
CUP Central Bureau Chief
WINNIPEG (CUP) - The environmental sustainability of university campuses is becoming an important issue, and universities across the country are taking on a wide array of initiatives to achieve that goal. Recently, both major Saskatchewan universities announced projects that will go a long way toward reducing energy consumption on campus.
"It's becoming increasingly clear that global sustainability is the issue of this generation, and I believe that universities are a very logical starting point," said Margret Asmuss, sustainability co-ordinator at the University of Saskatchewan. "We have a lot of influence … we have much of the best research capacity in the country, and so if universities can't do it, nobody can."
The Facilities Management Division at the University of Saskatchewan has a plan in the works to replace 26,000 fluorescent fixtures with energy-efficient electronic ballasts, as well as to replace 3,000 incandescent lights with fluorescent bulbs.
If approved by the school's Board of Governors, the plan would cost $1.9 million over three years, with the costs being made up by energy savings within six years.
The project stems from the recommendations of a 2002 energy audit done at the university, and follows on the heels of the establishment of a campus-wide recycling program last fall.
The University of Regina is set to begin energy efficiency upgrades to five buildings this year, which will save the university approximately $345,000 a year in energy consumption. Major components of the upgrades will be the installation of energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, as well as the replacement of aging ventilations systems, the university announced.
More than $200,000 in funding for the project will come from a grant made by the federal government. These upgrades, phase one in a three-phase plan, will upgrade lighting, ventilation, and include occupancy sensors in classrooms.
Neil Paskewitz, manager of mechanical and electrical projects at the U of R's physical plant, said the upgrades are being done as a cost-saving and environmental initiative. The physical plant on campus recently completed its own energy audit, targeting older buildings as having potential for the largest energy savings.
WINNIPEG (CUP) - The environmental sustainability of university campuses is becoming an important issue, and universities across the country are taking on a wide array of initiatives to achieve that goal. Recently, both major Saskatchewan universities announced projects that will go a long way toward reducing energy consumption on campus.
"It's becoming increasingly clear that global sustainability is the issue of this generation, and I believe that universities are a very logical starting point," said Margret Asmuss, sustainability co-ordinator at the University of Saskatchewan. "We have a lot of influence … we have much of the best research capacity in the country, and so if universities can't do it, nobody can."
The Facilities Management Division at the University of Saskatchewan has a plan in the works to replace 26,000 fluorescent fixtures with energy-efficient electronic ballasts, as well as to replace 3,000 incandescent lights with fluorescent bulbs.
If approved by the school's Board of Governors, the plan would cost $1.9 million over three years, with the costs being made up by energy savings within six years.
The project stems from the recommendations of a 2002 energy audit done at the university, and follows on the heels of the establishment of a campus-wide recycling program last fall.
The University of Regina is set to begin energy efficiency upgrades to five buildings this year, which will save the university approximately $345,000 a year in energy consumption. Major components of the upgrades will be the installation of energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, as well as the replacement of aging ventilations systems, the university announced.
More than $200,000 in funding for the project will come from a grant made by the federal government. These upgrades, phase one in a three-phase plan, will upgrade lighting, ventilation, and include occupancy sensors in classrooms.
Neil Paskewitz, manager of mechanical and electrical projects at the U of R's physical plant, said the upgrades are being done as a cost-saving and environmental initiative. The physical plant on campus recently completed its own energy audit, targeting older buildings as having potential for the largest energy savings.
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