Photo by: Michael Furman

The USG Sustainability Committee is considering redirecting nearly half of the sustainability budget, a portion of the student activity fee, to build an in-state DU wind turbine in western Colorado.

Those funds, which amount to about $90,000 from the student fee and money provided by the DU administration are currently used to buy wind energy credits from an out-of-state source, according to Dillon Doyle, a member of the student-led Sustainability Committee.

“I don’t think it’s the best use of the money. It’s an offset and it doesn’t do as much as it could,” Doyle said.

Under the current wind energy contract, which will be up for renewal later this year, DU pays to neutralize some of the campus energy consumption. There is no direct correlation between the energy used at DU and that it helps pay to produce.

The plan to construct a DU-owned wind turbine in Colorado is projected to cost DU $900,000 over the next 10 years, according to Doyle.

It is also unprecedented. While other campuses in the country have built wind turbines on school property to power energy consumption, none has ever sponsored an off-site turbine through an independent energy company.

“We can’t find any universities that have done exactly what we’re envisioning doing. We haven’t been able to find a university who has contracted off site and worked through their energy provider to maintain it,” Doyle said.

There is not enough wind at DU to power a turbine on campus.

The committee, which is open to all students and appropriates the more than $100,000 Sustainable DU budget, is preparing to go to the administration with the project and come out with more concrete information for students by the end of the month, Doyle said.

Junior finance major Garrett Gudge said he would be supportive of the project.

“I think it would be smarter just because 20% of the State’s energy needs to come from sustainable sources so by doing that you’re kind of supporting Colorado,” Gudge said.

Doyle said the Committee sees the turbine as a learning opportunity for students.

“We want students to come out thinking that they can make change and having the power to do so. Ultimately its student money and students are the ones that are spending it,” Doyle said.

The other big project the Committee has undertaken this year is the bike library to which it appropriated more than $17,000. The Committee also funds student led projects such as the community garden which will be opened officially on Earth Day 2010.

The Committee welcomes new student participation, Doyle said. It meets on Sundays at 6 p.m.