Allegheny’s commitment to sustainability did not end when the school achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, meaning net emissions equal zero. Since then the school has continued to work towards a more sustainable campus and a greener footprint overall.
“We did a ton to reduce our emissions,” said Director of Sustainability Kelly Boulton, ’07. “Now we are offsetting them, but our overall goal is to not just stop doing the work.”
While Allegheny College purchases 100% wind-generated renewable energy credits to match its campus energy consumption, this is considered an offset. These wind credits are not necessarily generated anywhere close to campus.
“These are national wind credits,” Boulton said. “Here in northwestern Pennsylvania, the primary source of electricity is liquid natural gas, a fossil fuel.
“We would like to encourage the development of renewable energy closer to Pennsylvania and the closest we can get is Meadville,” Boulton continued.
Over the last few months the college has been auditing seven different buildings on campus for solar panel installation. These buildings are Carr Hall, Baldwin Hall, Schultz Hall, Lawrence Lee Pelletier Library, the Vukovich Center, the Henderson Campus Center and the Wise Athletic Center. While this project will not reach the target of 100% of all electricity used generated on site, this is one of many steps the college is taking to start toward that goal.
“The easy part has been working with the nonprofit organization Pennsylvania Solar Center modeling solar potential, that is the easy part,” Boulton said. “Even the financials of solar, like, we know it is the right thing to do. It is cheaper than the electricity we are purchasing currently if we put solar on our buildings.”
The project is not without its challenges. The buildings on campus are old and were not built with solar in mind.
“The hard part is the facility side,” Boulton said. “So all of those seven rooftops that are being audited for solar, they need a new roof. That is a huge upfront cost. So we are having to think creatively about how we are going to get those roofs replaced in a way that doesn’t break the budget.
While the cost might seem prohibitive, Boulton was confident that even without solar installation that in the near future these roofs will need to be replaced regardless.
Not all projects come with such high upfront costs, nor is solar installation an alien thing on this campus. It was more than 10 years ago when Carlyn Aarish, ’11, as part of her senior comprehensive project, installed solar panels on top of Carr Hall.
“Renewable energy sources were really kind of picking up in the United States at that point,” Aarish said.
Through a series of grants and, as she put it, “serendipitous circumstances,” Aarish, along with the help of a local electrician were able to source and install Allegheny’s first set of solar panels.
Student involvement has always been at the heart of Allegheny’s sustainability mission.
“I think that the fact that you are making a real impact, that is the most motivating thing,” Aarish said, “that the period of time in college is when you are most hopeful about making an impact on the world. You want to take every opportunity to do that while you’re on campus.”
The Reis Hall renovation is no different. From geothermal — highly efficient ground-source heat pumps — to material choices, almost every part of Reis has been optimized with sustainability in mind. While the actual renovations have been handled by contractors and the administration, the landscaping surrounding the building has been updated by students to fit the more sustainable future that Allegheny wants to build.
Sunny Stout, ’26, along with others worked to update and replace some of the non-native and invasive species of plant around the hall with native alternatives.
“We worked to improve the ecosystem on campus,” Stout said.
Stout has been involved in several sustainability projects on campus including the pollinator garden in front of Pelletier Library as well as the installation of 20 bird nest boxes around campus.
“The students at Allegheny, most of them are really passionate about sustainability and making sure that our campus stays beautiful and has a good ecosystem,” Stout said.
The same sentiment was echoed by Madeline Yeatts, the college’s new sustainability manager.
“I think that is something we think about a lot, that is how much of the sustainability efforts on campus are student driven, and is enhanced by student collaboration and learning.” Yeatts said. “There is no corner of campus that is not touched by student sustainability efforts.”
The student news site of Allegheny College
Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *


Δ

source