University of California Passes Ground-Breaking Clean Energy Policy

The University of California Board of Regents voted unanimously today in favor of a Clean Energy and Green Building policy. This policy raises the bar for environmental leadership for all other national institutions. This vote follows the year-long "UC Go Solar!" campaign run by students across the state and Greenpeace. The campaign called for the Regents to adopt a comprehensive Clean Energy and Green Building policy to make UC a national leader in environmental stewardship.

Since last September, students and faculty sent more than 10,000 postcards to the university in support of the campaign. VIPs, including Lt. Governor Cruz M. Bustamente endorsed it, and dozens of editorials have appeared in student newspapers urging the Regents to take action.

"This victory for the environment is the product of collaboration between students, faculty, administrators, Regents and Greenpeace," explained Kristin Casper, Greenpeace campaigner. "The UC's leadership will pave the way for campuses across the United States toward a clean, sustainable future. Now there is a clear road map for others to follow."

According to a Greenpeace study released today, the UC's solar energy commitment, along with the Los Angeles Community College District's pledge last year to generate 10 percent of new buildings' energy use with onsite renewable energy, can increase the total amount of grid-connected solar power in the United States by nearly 30 percent above today's levels. The study also notes that academic institutions are now emerging as a driving force for building a clean energy economy for our country.

The University of California policy is a comprehensive initiative that mandates the following:

• Ten megawatts (equivalent to the power used by 5,000 homes) of renewable energy will be installed across UC's 10 campuses (currently only 40 MW of solar energy are grid-connected in California and 52 MW total in the United States).
• Ten percent of the university's utilities will be purchased from clean energy sources immediately and will eventually grow to 20 percent by 2017. That is enough power for 26,000 homes.
• All new campus building across the state will be built to green building standards (except acute care facilities).
• System-wide energy use will be reduced to 10 percent below 2000 levels by 2014, in order to reduce consumption of non-renewable energy sources.
  

Following the UC's lead, students from more than 50 campuses across the country are expected to launch Clean Energy campaigns this fall, pushing their schools to help build a cleaner economy. The Greenpeace report shows that if every U.S. College campus were to match the UC solar energy policy, the total grid-connected solar installations in the United States would increase more than 50-fold. With this surge, prices of solar power could be expected to drop by some 23 percent, making it competitive with conventional, polluting energies' costs in many areas.