Campus Climate Initiatives

Friday’s Climate Teach-In gave voice to a series of Simon’s Rock staples, including Harold Hastings, Tai Young-Taft, Jennifer Browdy, Nancy Bonvillian, Brian Connolly, Justin Jackson, and Jay Maronde, an employee of the Physical Plant. According to the my.simons-rock Portal, his official title is “Maintenance Technician,” but Jay has really been acting as a campus energy manager. Maronde spoke on campus energy and climate initiatives. Below is a list of a few projects either in progress or forthcoming.

1. Phase 1 Solar: Phase 1 is complete! As many of you know, the DAC, Fisher, and the KAC are coated in solar panels. As of this summer, these bad boys went online, and we have now been generating energy for the Great Barrington community. Our power is flowing into the city grid, and the energy we produce is deducted from our power bill.
   
2. Phase 2 Solar: Phase 2 is basically creating our own grid with giant lithium batteries, then setting up electric car charging stations from this batteries to be available to the community. Meetings for this project are currently in-process, and if it goes through Simon’s Rock will be self-reliant (that means we can survive the apocalypse if Great Barrington’s power goes out).
   
3. Green-ify our Fleet: As you may know, trucks and vans use a shit-ton of gas, and gas is big bad for the environment. Physical Plant has been looking into uplifted hybrid pick-up trucks and campus vans. Some models of these hybrid trucks even have plug-in sockets for electric charging. We have recently purchased a new campus van (I’ve heard she's pretty fancy) which is compatible with the hybrid up-fit, and although it is not yet a hybrid vehicle, it very well may be in the future. In terms of the trucks, we don’t have any new ones, and that’s because they’re damn expensive. However, the models test driven on Tuesday September 17 are significantly more energy-savvy and pay themselves off after three years of use (much faster than a non-hybrid vehicle). Petitions will be sent out soon to see if the student body is in support of these new vehicles which have larger upfront cost, but lower total carbon emissions.
   
4. Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: As I mentioned in Phase 2 solar, there are some plans to host vehicle charging stations on campus. These would be open to the community, and, if all goes to plan, we might even have a DC to DC EV Fast Charger Station. “What is that?” you might ask. Basically, you can charge 85% of your Tesla in thirty minutes.
   
5. Campus LED Retro-fit: 3000 old lights on campus have been replaced by LEDs. 500 more will be. Some of the LEDs (like in the Stacks) are now motion sensors. Let’s go efficient energy!
   
6. Net Zero Waste Initiative with Tony S: This is a conference that will be held on-campus about zero waste lifestyles. It may or may not be held during Fall Break. We aren’t entirely sure yet, but there will be an email.
   
7. Phase 3 Solar: This is an elusive plan referred to as “Solar Upper-Campus.” Much of the information is confidential, but I learned from a reputable source that we hold a permit for a wind-turbine on upper, so it might have something to do with that.​
   

Author

Elise Kelly, she is a sophomore at Simon's Rock and The Weekly Cad's Vice President and Director of Creative Publications.