University of Michigan keeps its energy usage steady this year, campus sustainability office says
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The University of Michigan kept its energy use steady in the past year, despite experiencing a 9 percent increase in the campus population and an 11 percent increase in building area during that time, U-M said in a report released today.
The energy usage was attributed to upgrades of older campus buildings and individual efforts of faculty, staff and students on campus, said Terry Alexander, the executive director of U-M's new Office of Campus Sustainability.
"It's a significant accomplishment, and we hope to continue to hold the line - and perhaps even decrease energy use - in the future," Alexander said in release.
The results were published in U-M's Environmental Report. U-M also offered the raw data used for that report.
U-M's Ann Arbor campus matched energy consumption rates to U-M's annual energy consumption over the past six years.
U-M typically spends between $110 million and $120 million per year on energy. About 45 percent of that energy is generated at U-M's natural gas-facility the Central Power Plant, and the rest is purchased from DTE Energy, which largely uses coal-fired power plants.
In the next year, the sustainability office will identify sustainability standards and goals for campus operations after analyzing the past six years of energy data.
Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.
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