FW: Penn State Board of Trustees Re: Regional Energy System Planning

[Katherine Watt]

Reply from Trustee Paul Silvis, below:

> Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 09:53:00 -0400
> From: ph...@psu.edu
> To: katheri...@hotmail.com
> Subject: Re: Penn State Board of Trustees Re: Regional Energy System Planning
>
> Thank you for your comments. We rely on Penn State professionals to make these decisions.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Katherine Watt" <katheri...@hotmail.com>
> To: ah...@psu.edu, ajt...@psu.edu, amh...@psu.edu, ap...@psu.edu, be...@psu.edu, bld...@psu.edu, ct...@psu.edu, dj...@psu.edu, ebb...@psu.edu, er...@psu.edu, gd...@psu.edu, hj...@psu.edu, im...@psu.edu, jnm...@psu.edu, js...@psu.edu, kb...@psu.edu, kc...@psu.edu, kem...@psu.edu, klc...@psu.edu, kw...@psu.edu, lb...@psu.edu, me...@psu.edu, mh...@psu.edu, pak...@psu.edu, ph...@psu.edu, rj...@psu.edu, rj...@psu.edu, rkd...@psu.edu, we...@psu.edu, wxo...@psu.edu
> Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 11:20:34 AM
> Subject: Penn State Board of Trustees Re: Regional Energy System Planning
>
> Dear Trustees -
>
> I’ve been investigating Penn State University’s energy system plans since information about the proposed 12” 400 psi Columbia Gas natural gas transmission line through the Highlands residential neighborhood emerged in mid-March of this year, and publishing relevant documents online at the State College Energy Sovereignty Task Force website. The public paper trail most recently took me to the PA-Department of Environmental Protection’s Williamsport office on June 24, where I reviewed records related to the conversion of the West Campus Steam Plant from coal to natural gas and diesel fuel.
>
> There’s considerable evidence that fossil fuel extraction will continue to become less economically and technically feasible over the coming decades as the boom-bust cycle plays out, and that communities must quickly cut regional greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change, not simply slow the rate of emissions growth. See, for example Drill Baby Drill , a report by J. David Hughes of the Post-Carbon Institute which documents steep production decline rates at unconventional wells, and Chesapeake Energy’s growing reliance on asset sales for cash flow and balance sheet repair. On climate change, see the work of Penn State researchers including Michael Mann and Richard Alley.
>
> Given that evidence, it’s both economically and ecologically dangerous for institutions like Penn State to invest significant capital and employee time in fossil fuel-dependent distribution and combustion infrastructure. As Trustees, you are in a position to set a different course for the university, toward intensive conservation measures and targeted renewable installations that better meet your fiduciary responsibilities.
>
> Penn State Office of Physical Plant staff have made general public claims that they’ve considered alternatives and none are feasible. Those assertions are, to date, unverifiable because Penn State staffers have not released the data and calculations to the public, and the university is not subject to the Pennsylvania open public records law.
>
> However, the limited data accessed by State College residents actively engaged in this issue supports our conclusion that Penn State is technically capable of reducing the University Park energy load to enable the closure of the West Campus Steam Plant – meeting and then exceeding the tightening emissions standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and enforced by state regulators.
>
> We believe that Penn State – and the surrounding community which depends on the university’s long-term viability – would be best served by your leadership for energy system planning that begins with comprehensive conservation measures, followed by carefully targeted renewable installations. We believe conservation and renewables offer the safest, most reliable, cheapest and cleanest long-term energy supply, and that the West Campus Steam Plant expansion is a discretionary project, not a necessary one.
>
> We also think there’s a public role for us to play in helping OPP staff overcome the technical and social hurdles blocking the path to conservation and rewewables; community engagement isn’t sufficient to steer Penn State onto that path, but it is necessary. Drastically reducing campus energy consumption is a difficult task that will require real sacrifices of convenience for students, faculty and staff. To highlight one example, a 2006 greenhouse gas emissions report by Brandi Nagle noted that campus energy consumption dramatically increased during the 1990s and early 2000s as students and faculty adopted on-demand use habits for computer and cell phone technologies. It is possible, albeit painful, to provide an excellent educational experiences for students while reversing those trends and limiting use and recharging of electronic devices. Less than 20 years ago, I got a good education here at Penn State without laptops or cellphones.
>
> With accurate information about increasingly unreliable, expensive and climate-destabilizing fossil fuel extraction and distribution systems, you are in a position to direct administrators within the OPP and the new Sustainability Institute to find the most effective sequence of steps to reduce campus energy use and align it with decreasing energy production capacity caused by the aging of campus fossil fuel infrastructure and the rising cost of fossil fuels, while replacing the declining capacity year-to-year with renewable systems.
>
> We have a community-wide obligation to cut our dependence on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions - and on the town side, I'm working to draft and lobby for a local energy code provision to enable public financing of home and business energy conservation and renewable energy production and distribution.
>
> I’ll be watching your actions tomorrow very closely for evidence that you fully understand our global energy predicament and are serious about meeting the challenge openly and prudently within the sphere of your control: our community.
>
> Thank you very much for your service to Penn State.
>
> Katherine Watt
> (814) 237-0996
> PSU Class of 1996
>
> Program Director/Blog Editor - Spring Creek Homesteading Fund
> Blog Editor - State College Energy Sovereignty Task Force

[Smita Bharti]

I guess they don't want to share the work that went into making the decision.. disappointing reply, though as expected.

Smita.

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