Scranton Goes Carbon-neutral for 2020

The University of Scranton will purchase carbon-neutral electricity for 2020 in an effort to reduce the school’s carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emission generation.

Carbon-neutral electricity has its source in operations that generate power with considerable lower quantities of carbon dioxide emissions than is released from standard fossil fuel power generation. It includes low carbon power generation sources such as wind power, solar power, hydropower and nuclear power.

“At the University, we are always trying to initiate additional green initiatives on campus,” said Mark Murphy, director of the University’s Sustainability Office. “In our bid for 2020 electricity, we were able to purchase zero-carbon electricity at the same price as electricity which would have most likely been generated by burning fossil fuels like natural gas and coal.”

 “Nuclear energy is carbon neutral and a good environmental step for the University,” Murphy said. “In the future, we plan on pursuing the purchase of 100 percent renewable energy, which is generated by the more traditional renewable sources such as solar, wind and water.”

For 2020, the University will use Carbon-Zero 24/7, a new, 100 percent emission-free product from Talen Energy, a privately-owned independent power producer based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Backed by Emission-Free Energy Certificates issued by PJM Environmental Information Services (EIS), Carbon-Zero 24/7 ensures that the electricity supplied to the University is from a source that does not directly emit any air pollution (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide) which can help the university reduce emissions associated with its electricity usage.