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NYU will begin more concerted efforts to become a more environmentally responsible campus to complement its recent purchase of more than 100 million kilowatt hours of wind energy, university officials said.
The "Greening of NYU" will be led by a newly created Task Force on Sustainability headed by Lynne Brown, NYU's senior vice president for university relations and public affairs, and Alison Leary, NYU's vice president for facilities and construction management.
The team will work to collect, analyze, prioritize and implement new ideas and initiatives to achieve the university's sustainability objectives, Leary said, adding that the university has begun adding new resources. These resources are dedicated to energy management, construction of the new co-generation plant project and documentation of building and engineering standards.
"This task force will actually lend additional resources to these efforts," Leary said. "Together the task force and our department will create a strong team which will accelerate our progress in these and other areas."
John Bradley, NYU's assistant vice president for energy, engineering and technical services, will work closely with the task force to develop a sustainability strategy for the university.
Bradley said the university is already hard at work at developing ideas to achieve the task force's goal.
NYU's Garden Shop, a facility that plants gardens around campus, has begun discussing ideas to introduce composting, the controlled decomposition of materials, drip irrigation, which applies water directly to plants' roots to minimize water usage, and evaporative cooling, which uses water to remove heat energy.
But the key components of environmental building garden-covered green roofs still pose a challenge to NYU's plans for increased environmental responsibility.
"We haven't done an audit of [which] buildings can have green roofs yet," Bradley said, noting that it's economically and logistically easier to incorporate green roofs into the design process from the start instead of adding them to pre-existing buildings.
Unlike older buildings, new structures built with green roofs in mind can take into account the additional weight and the space necessary to house both the gardens and the air conditioners and emergency generators that are ordinarily installed on roofs.
"That isn't necessarily a deterrent," Leary said, "merely a factor that must be considered."
Newer buildings will also be capable of more efficient energy-saving techniques, some of which NYU plans to incorporate into its planned residence hall on East 12th Street.
A substantial cause of energy loss is the tendency of older buildings to allow heat or conditioned air to escape through old or loose windows, Leary said. As a result, the increased workload on a building's climate control equipment leads to a corresponding increase in energy consumption.
In addition to being more efficient than older buildings, new structures sometimes boast features like double-paned windows and architectural features that shade sunlit windows and decrease energy demands resulting from solar radiation.
NYU has already begun work on a number of environmentally friendly initiatives to promote sustainability and conservation such as its commitment to recycling over 30 percent of its waste.
Leary said the university has been studying the potential for solar-powered energy for almost a year and is also currently surveying the campus for the addition of new, secured bike racks to encourage bicycle commuting.
NYU will continue to expand on its eco-friendly design practices, including the installation of energy-efficient lighting and building management systems, as well as the use of sustainable materials, such as bamboo, for interior finishes, Leary said.
Wind power has also caused some controversy. Homeowners often complain about the adverse aesthetic effects of large wind farms near their property and some ecologists are concerned about the effects of wind turbines on bird mortality.
A 2004 survey conducted by the California Energy Commission showed that turbines in California's Altamont Pass kill between 1,766 and 4,721 birds each year.
NYU's task force is also recommending the replacement of the university's co-generation facility, which allows the university to simultaneously produce electricity and heat energy that is cleaner and more efficient than the energy currently supplied by Con Edison.
"Over the next two years, we hope to replace and expand this plant, which will reduce emissions substantially below what would be emitted by a conventional power plant and well below EPA standards," Leary said, referring the Environmental Protection Agency.
The new facility is estimated to cost approximately $125,000 and will enable the university to generate cleaner energy than its current facility.
Leary said the new plant will increase the percentage of electricity consumption supplied by co-generation from 20 to 60 percent.
NYU Executive Vice President Michael Alfano said he hopes to submit the co-generation proposal to the board of trustees for approval in December.
"There are many exciting initiatives on the horizon," Leary said.
The university has already joined the U.S. Green Buildings Council and is actively pursuing certification with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, which rates buildings on their environmental friendliness.
"We are looking forward to helping NYU expand its many leadership initiatives so that the university will also be a true leader in the effort to protect and preserve our environment for generations to come, " Leary said.
