As a result of a student initiative that the student body voted on last spring, the University of Denver has become the largest buyer of wind energy among Colorado universities after purchasing 15 million kilowatt-hours, 10 percent of DU’s total energy needs.

This amount of energy, costing $81,000, will supply enough wind energy to power the university’s three largest buildings for the next two years: Driscoll Center, Sturm Hall and the Ritchie Center.

Besides being the largest wind-energy purchase of any college or university in Colorado, DU is the fifth largest purchase in Colorado overall as well as one of the top 10 purchaser of a 100 percent wind energy product by a university in the United States.

“This is wonderful for DU, but also wonderful for Colorado,” Chancellor Robert Coombe said yesterday at a press conference about the purchase.

Senior Katy Gibson, who helped initiate the program, said the wind initiative was remarkable because it was entirely thought, supported, funded and backed by students. She said it shows that universities can be a powerful “agent of change.” Gibson said it leaves her with “a hope of greater environment sustainability.”

To cover the cost of the wind purchase, all undergraduate students will pay an additional $18 each year as part of their student activity fee. Student voted yes during last spring’s elections.

The university’s wind energy purchase is equivalent to the energy needed to power 2,000 homes. By not using fossil fuels, the wind energy will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25 million. The primary wind source comes from a 7.5 megawatt wind farm in southeast Colorado, while the remainder is from a wind farm in Wyoming.

DU is making the purchase through Community Energy, Inc. (CEI), a wind energy generation marketer and developer. Instead of wind turbines directly powering the university, the wind energy purchase will be fed into the Xcel Energy electrical grid to be dispersed throughout Denver. The university will then receive credits for the purchase, and will purchase an equal amount of energy from Xcel.