Wind turbines might be one of the next additions to Ball State's list of sustainable projects to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The move could establish Ball State as a clear-cut leader in sustainability on college campuses, but the real winners could be the students because of additional educational opportunities they would receive.
The university eliminated coal combustion on campus through the installation of the largest geothermal system in the country. The project targeted the heating and cooling of buildings. Ball State still commits what is called upstream coal combustion by purchasing electricity from Indiana Michigan Power.
The electric power company produces most of its electricity from coal fire and nuclear power plants, according to the company’s website.
“At some point down the road, we’ve got to shift away from brown, coal combustion power and move toward green power, which is solar electric and wind,” said Bob Koester, chairman of Ball State’s Council on the Environment and director of the Center for Energy Research, Education and Service.
Ball State is a member of the Association of Advancement of Sustainability in High Education and participates in the organization’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System. The rating system measures the sustainability performance of universities. Ball State achieved a gold rating in 2012, the second highest rating available. The top rating is platinum, and no university has achieved that honor yet.
Adding a wind turbine might put Ball State in position to attain a platinum rating.
“If Ball State is one of the few campuses with that rating, then it enhances the names of the degrees students will carry,” Koester said.
Ball State prides itself on an immersive learning curriculum, and the turbines would provide such an experience on Ball State’s campus.
“The biggest thing could be the opportunity for student engagement in monitoring and learning about [wind turbine] operation,” Koester said. “It’s a great teaching and research environment, and it’s very much an immersive learning experience.”
Geology students are monitoring the borehole fields north of campus that are part of the geothermal project. The students are working with faculty to build long-term data sets on the performance of the geothermal system.
Wind turbines are gaining popularity around the world because of the benefits they provide to the environment.
“Whether it’s wind or solar, renewable resources are better because fossil fuels are finite resources that pollute the air and cause health problems,” said Laura Ann Arnold, president and founder of Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance.
Wind energy also helps generate positive economic and employment growth, according to the Canadian Wind Energy Association.
The source of green energy doesn’t come without concern. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health investigated complaints of noise, infrasound, vibration and light flicker from people living near wind farms.
The results of the study were inconclusive, and the experts were unable to find anything substantial against wind energy, according to the Wind Turbine Health Impact Study: Report of Independent Expert Panel.
Taylor University in Upland, Ind., built two wind turbines on its campus over the past year to help power its new Euler Science Complex.
“In general, we’re happy with them," said Kevin Crosby, Taylor University coordinator of stewardship and sustainability. "They’re positive for the campus and are a huge symbol for us, but we’ve had some problems with the maintenance and output.”
The installer of Taylor’s turbines went out of business shortly after the turbines were completed, so the university had to find another company to repair the turbines after some parts broke. The ordeal took two months before the turbines were operational again.
The turbines also were expected to generate about 25 percent of the science complex’s power, but they are only generating 15 to 20 percent, said Crosby.
Ball State’s motivation to find cleaner energy sources comes as a result of Ball State President Jo Ann Gora signing the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2006. The goal of the commitment is for universities to become climate neutral.
