Renewable Electrical Energy In Higher Education Institutions

Humanity has progressed tremendously throughout the years. We have conquered vast lands,

colossal waves of the ocean, and the far-flung of space. But alas, we have turned a blind eye on the

effects of development towards our own planet Earth. Our never ending thirst for energy has doomed

us in using up the earth’s resources in a frightening rate. Where else can we see the perfect analogy of

our hunger for energy than in our education institutions? Just like the brain which is the most energy

consuming organ in the perfectly built human body, universities are the place where knowledge is

passed, ideas are nurtured and technological breakthroughs are manufactured. These endeavors come

with a hefty price of huge consumption of resources which mainly portrays in the form of energy.

Regrettably, the easy way out for huge amounts of energy is by the old and proven way of burning

fossil fuels. Fossil fuels have paved the way from the industrialization era to the modern way of living

we so comfortably lavish in today. But then why is it so bad? Over the last 10 years, numerous

scientist had consensually agreed that greenhouse gases, which is the main byproduct of burning our

much loved fossil fuel, contributes significantly in the recent global climate change.(d) On the other

hand, the fluctuating prices of fossil fuels has make the idea of using alternative energy to produce

electricity more alluring. Similarly, public interest has been noticed to spike in recent times in issues

relating sustainability and earth friendly alternative energy production.(b). Therefore, this paper

wishes to dwell on the issue of alternative electrical energy production, usage and public acceptance.

One of the two alternative electrical energy productions which will be discussed is by biomass. If

developed properly, biomass can and should supply increasing amounts of bio power. Sustainable,

low-carbon biomass can provide a significant fraction of the new renewable energy we need to reduce

our emissions of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide to levels that scientists say will avoid the

worst impacts of global warming. Biomass works by taking solid wastes such as woodchips, waste

paper and saw dust and transforming them into fuel pallets which is then burned to heat a steam

powered generator.Biomass energy production can also occur by collecting methane gas from the

anaerobic digestion of organic matter, or in simpler terms, the decomposition of organic waste. The

gas will then be burned to power the generator.(a). This is a perfect system to be implemented in

University Technology Petronas because of a few reasons. UTP is located near Lumut and Manjung, a

hub for agricultural products such as corn. The process of obtaining agricultural product will yield a

lot of biomass wastes such as husks and wood chips which would otherwise being disposed of by

burning, further worsening the global warming problem. UTP can form a symbiosis relationship with

these industries and obtained a free source of fuel to power the biomass generator. This would in turn

create job opportunities around the area thus making UTP to give something back to the community.

Other than that, waste papers and cardboards are also good alternatives for fuel pallet production. The

University of Cincinnati conducted a research in converting university wastes into renewable energy

and found out that using waste papers to make fuel pallets could save approximately $5614 annually

for a standard size power plant (a). Therefore we can solve the problem of waste papers left by

students completing their semester as well as reducing organic waste production by using the wastes

from cafes to power the biomass system, thus reducing our carbon footprint and increasing our

savings. Therefore, using biomass as an alternative electrical energy generator clearly has major

benefits in our university’s context.

The second alternative electrical energy generation is by solar power. The basic principle of the solar

energy involves the use of photovoltaic cells, the same cells used to power orbiting satellites.  Sunlight

striking the crystals induces the photovoltaic effect, which generates electricity. The electricity

produced is called direct current and can be used immediately or stored in a battery. For systems

installed on homes served by a utility grid, a device called an inverter changes the electricity into

alternating current, the standard power used in residential homes. Solar energy can also be utilized by

using solar panels to heat water. Nevertheless, the big hiccup in solar energy is that there is only 10

hours of usable sunlight thus making the solar panels dormant 60% of the day(c) and the huge initial

cost needed to install the solar panels. Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) conducted

a research to determine the financial feasibility of a large solar powered generator and they concluded

that the power generated is still 30% higher than electricity generated by fossil fuels(c).To reduce the

cost and payback time of the solar generator, we need to use a smaller and cheaper solar panel. In a

study conducted at University of Valencia, they tested two systems to know how solar energy could

help in energy saving and reducing the carbon footprint. The first system involves a large installation

of high power solar panels while the latter is more modest fitting involving solar panels with a lower

power rating. The results shows that while the first system have a higher power rating, the payback

period is 17 years compared to the second choice which only have a 9 year payback rate. The average

lifetime expectancy of 30 years from both the systems proves that smaller installation is beneficial as a

initial cost of $57,000 would bring an annual benefit of $9,000 while saving 4.49 tons of CO2 from

being pumped to the atmosphere. This system could be useful in UTP because of the amount of

sunlight we have in this part of the country. UTP currently installed a few photovoltaic solar panels in

the nano research center but there is room for improvement. The installation of portable solar

generators that can be used in the hot season would certainly bring a surplus of clean renewable

energy to the university.

After the production of the alternative electrical energy, we can envision the usage of it in many

ways. One of the beneficial ways is by implementing an electrical transportation system. The

fluctuating oil prices have made the idea of an electric public transportation system an excellent

implementation. Furthermore, the usage of public transportation in campus could reduce traffic and

parking problems which is a daily problem for students in UTP. Public transportation could also

reduce the carbon footprint by cutting down the usage of private vehicles in campus. Nevertheless, we

should look into the implementation of this system as electric vehicle has a higher upfront cost,

demands more care mechanically and requires different fueling system. The University of Ohio had

done a simulation of electric busses in the campus and came about many interesting points. The

electrical buses have a higher price which is nearly double of the conventional bus. Besides that an

electric bus fleet requires a charging infrastructure and may need to be recharged multiple times daily.

The way to overcome these problems is by installing multiple charging stations around the campus,

using chargers with higher power rates, using larger batteries and inductive charging while in transit.

(d) This technological advances is also made possible even in the compound of UTP. Engineering

student should be allowed to explore this renewable technology and maybe come up with an even

more efficient way to use renewable electrical energy while promoting lower driving costs, higher

energy efficiency, and lower emissions.

However, the issue of renewable electrical energy production has brought about many challenges,

one of which is the public acceptance on the matter. The main worry is how the students in campus

would react on such a massive change if the implementation of a renewable electrical energy

production is executed. A study was conducted on a sample of students in the University of Freidburg,

conducting 450 interviews to assess the willingness of student to change to green power products (e).

The result of the study shows that more than 90% of the student are aware of green power products

besides revealing that an astounding 99% of them reacted positively to the concept. These results show

that in the environment of a university, students are prone to support this green effort as they are

educated on the effects of non-renewable energy generation to our environment. One could also reflect

these results by the increasing number of students who use hybrid vehicles or switched to using

bicycles instead. The only challenges stated by the students in the study aforementioned are the

marketing problem for the green power products. This could be overcome by releasing more

information to the public as students are sure to accept the product if they know the cause and effect of

their decision. Furthermore, if we introduced the usage of green power production to students in their

campus life, they would most probably support the cause well into their adulthood.

In conclusion, the introduction of renewable energy production should be more emphasized by

universities across the globe as students hold an important role in cultivating an ecofriendly attitude.

Furthermore, students should be allowed to explore the ever growing technological advancement in

green power technology. The implementation of the said technology would also be a source of income

from the university itself as they can sell the surplus of the energy back to the power station. The

university can also form a symbiotic bond with regional business to provide them with the waste they

need to generate electricity besides reducing their own waste product by converting it to clean energy.

Furthermore, the weather condition in Perak provides a strong base in implementing a solar power

generator. While the initial costs may be a little overpriced, the payback value in the long term would

be more than enough to cover the initial upfront costs. Other than that, it is proven that the public,

especially the students would accept the implementation of a green product in the confines of the

campus. Conclusively, we have discussed the alternative electrical energy production, usage and

public acceptance.