Students at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington have voted to power the university with 100% green energy.
On February 4, the Western Washington University board of trustees approved a student fee to be used for the purchase of renewable energy - positioning Western as the second largest purchaser of green power in higher education and the 15th largest purchaser of green energy overall.
In spring 2004, a WWU student initiative on green energy passed with 84.7% approval and student leaders and university administrators have been working cooperatively to study what is needed to implement a renewable energy program at Western.
The trustee approval provides permission for university officials to negotiate with Puget Sound Energy to purchase green energy from The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the wholesale supplier for PSE's green power program. PSE's green power program includes wind and solar resources in its mix.
The trustees will review the fee amount this summer following negotiations with PSE.
"The implementation of the green power initiative resulted from a lot of hard work by students and university administrators. As the president of the Associated Students, I would like to express my appreciation to the board of trustees for their support. I also want to single out our students for their willingness to think creatively and then to act on their determination to preserve our natural resources," said Rachel Zommick, WWU Associated Students President.
