by Sean Good
Daily Lobo
People can breathe easier on campus than they could six years ago, according to reports from the Physical Plant.
Since the department began a $60 million project in 2000 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, UNM reduced nitrous oxide emissions by 86 percent, from 108 tons to 15 tons per year.
Carbon dioxide emissions went down 15 percent, from 120,801 tons to 102,550 tons per year.
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The money saved by using less energy allowed the department to pay off loans used to fund the project, said Jeffrey Zumwalt, associate director of Physical Plant's utility operations.
"The project in whole was designed to basically pay off the loan," he said.
Physical Plant's project also decreased energy consumption on campus, despite the addition of buildings such as the Hibben Center.
The campus expanded by 3.6 percent from 2000 to 2006, but the annual energy usage decreased by 8.2 percent, according to a news release.
Zumwalt said a main cause of the reduction was the installation of new boilers and chillers at the Ford Utilities Center.
The center is the main provider of utilities for Main and North Campuses, not including the hospitals.
"We had a lot of really old boilers over here (the Ford Utilities Center) that were installed from the '40s through the '60s," he said.
The new boilers produce the same amount of steam while using less natural gas, Zumwalt said.
The project saves money and is good for the environment, he said.
"The other benefit is that we've reduced greenhouse gas emissions, so we're helping the environment that way as well," he said.
Although the equipment produces utilities more efficiently, the department hasn't addressed how utilities are consumed on campus, Zumwalt said.
Students, faculty and staff need to do their part to reduce energy consumption on campus, he said.
"The campus just keeps growing, and there are a lot of plans on board for even more growth," he said.
Zumwalt said the department plans to target energy usage in the buildings at UNM.
People can help reduce the University's energy consumption by using electricity in buildings only when necessary, he said.
"If everyone can just look around at how they use energy, they can probably identify ways that they can change their lifestyle a little bit," he said. "It would make a big impact on energy usage."
Reductions from Physical Plant's energy conservation project
Nitrous oxide emissions decreased 86 percent, from 108 tons to 15 tons per year
Carbon dioxide emissions decreased 15 percent, from 120,801 tons to 102,550 tons per year
Annual energy consumption decreased 8.2 percent
