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SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY SOU sells energy credits to Chevy Value won't be known until amount of savings evaluated next year By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Sep. 2, 2014 @ 12:01 am By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Sep. 2, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News By erecting a large solar array on its two new dormitories and getting them rated as energy-efficient structures, Southern Oregon University was able to sell a year’s worth of carbon credits to Chevrolet, which will retire them — meaning they will not be used to allow Chevy to emit carbon itself. SOU won’t know the value of the carbon credits until the end of 2014, but it’s expected to be enough to fulfill its purpose — funding new carbon-reducing projects at the university, such as lighting retrofits, equipment upgrades and existing solar arrays, says Roxane Beigel-Coryell, the university’s Sustainability and Recycling Coordinator. The carbon credits are determined by the difference between how this building performs, compared to an older, traditional building. It won’t know be known until the end of the year exactly how it’s performing.  She just verified that SOU will be able to generate as estimated $60,000 of carbon credits over the coming decade, as a result of the hefty solar array on the dorms, she says. Combined with rebates from Avista and lighting retrofits from the city of Ashland, it will help speed the school's progress toward an eventual goal of "net zero," the holy grail of carbon emissions, when carbon emmissions are cut as much as possible and any that are emitted are offset in other ways. “I don’t know if we’ll get there,” she says. “In our carbon footprint we look at student commutes to SOU and air travel, too.” The fortuitous hookup with Chevy resulted from a chance encounter of business senior Shaun Franks, now graduated, who met the Chevy representative after a presentation at a conference on the corporation’s commitment to support carbon reduction at universities. Chevy supports Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified projects — and SOU determined that its LEED buildings were under-performing, said a statement from by Beigel-Coryell. “During the program’s validation process, SOU discovered that the LEED buildings were not performing to their full potential,” said Beigel-Coryell. “This is a common problem for LEED projects, as the green building practices only focus on design and construction, and one of the reasons LEED increasingly emphasizes the need to link project goals with operational performance measures." Most new buildings have kinks to be worked out, she said. Once people are in a building, it performs differently than designers can predict. It's not the fault of the construction company, Beigel-Coryell said — you have to change the behavior of the people using the building In response, SOU spurred students on conservation and more closely monitored all buildings for energy efficiency, she notes. General Motors, in a statement from David Tulauskas, director of sustainability, said universities have to “leave a smaller footprint and engage their students along the way.” Chevy in 2010 announced its strategy to invest in renewable energy and efficiency in their own operations and to remove carbon from the atmosphere, says Sharon Basel, Sustainability Communications Manager at General Motors in Michigan. GM developed the methodology for universities, so the corporation, working with the Green Building Council, can monetize projects and help universities fund continuing projects, Basel adds, noting that GM verifies carbon credits of universities that can be purchased. “It’s really about engaging students, the administration and the community in supporting the goals of the university — and SOU is certainly a university that is nearly to its benchmark in what they’ve accomplished and we’re proud to be associated with them.”   John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Email him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Sep. 2, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. 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