U. is honored for conservation

The University of Utah recently earned national recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency and Sterling Planet for its effort to minimize use of fossil fuels.

The EPA made the university a Green Power Partner, while Sterling Planet presented the school with a Certificate of Environmental Stewardship.

The recognition was the direct result of efforts by the U. to purchase a "block" of wind power to offset its reliance on fossil-fuel generated electricity, with a grant offered by the Associated Students of the University of Utah.

"We agreed that the best option would be to purchase wind power certificates, which in essence represents seed money for the future development of wind power," said Pete van der Have, assistant vice president for plant operations.

The U. is one of the top three institutions of higher learning in the United States in reducing reliance on fossil-fuel generated electricity.