The University of Georgia Costa Rica 2014-2015 Sustainability Report UGA Costa Rica 2014 - 2015 Sustainability Report | 页面 14

Resource Efficiency

GOAL: Complete alternative
energy generation potential
and cost-benefit analysis,
with recommendations for
prioritized implementation
by 2015.
Energy production is a hotly
contested environmental issue
of the 21st century. UGA Costa
Rica has taken several important
steps towards the generation
of alternative energy, mainly in
the form of solar water heaters
and methane production via
biodigesters. In doing so, the
campus has employed safe,
reliable methods of producing
its own energy while reducing its
reliance on fossil fuels.
Traditionally, propane has been
used to heat water on campus, but
this trend has declined recently
due to the widespread installation
of solar water heaters on campus.
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University of Georgia Costa Rica

The first one was installed in June
2012. Today, solar power is used
to meet almost all of the campus’
hot water demands. The impacts
of the solar panels have been
instrumental in reducing propane
consumption on campus. As seen
in the graph on page 15, a trend
of reduced propane consumption
is evident despite increases in
occupancy.
The biodigesters on campus also
play a major role in the reduction
of campus propane consumption,
replacing propane used to heat
the burners in the kitchen.
Burning methane gas (CH4) is
not emission-free, with CO2 still
released as a byproduct. However,
releasing CO2 is considerably less
destructive because methane,
pound for pound, has 25 times
the greenhouse gas potential of
carbon dioxide. The biodigesters

prevent methane (emitted from
both livestock and campus guests)
from entering the atmosphere
by diverting it to burners in the
kitchen.
During the spring of 2013, UGA
engineering student Will Grant,
along with faculty member
Thomas Lawrence, calculated
that using the biodigester to
divert methane for fuel equates