STORIES

Help Combat Climate Change as a Neighborhood Sustainability Steward!

OSU Extension’s innovative Neighborhood Sustainability Stewards volunteer program engages the local community in climate change actions on a household level.  Program goals are: to engage the general public in a climate change conversation, to give the public tools to lower CO2 emissions on a household level, and to provide skills to live sustainably in a […]

Portland to host this year's annual aashe conference

This year the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education will be holding their annual Conference and Expo in our very own Portland, Oregon. With nearly 2,000 participants, AASHE’s annual conference is the largest gathering of higher education sustainability professionals and students in North America. What is AASHE you ask? AASHE is an […]

Corvallis Makes Quarterfinals in National Energy Competition

Corvallis has made it to the quarterfinals for the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a $5 million incentive to reduce energy consumption. The Corvallis application was submitted  in June, including letters of support from numerous local businesses and non-profits, Mayor Julie Manning, the Corvallis City Council, and all three utilities: Pacific Power, Consumers Power and Northwest […]

Solar Energy Workshop Event

Here at OSU we boast a variety of cutting edge sustainable energy options. From our LEED Platinum rated Energy Center to our portable Solar Trailer, sustainable energy is an important feature of our campus. But sustainable practices don’t stop there; the Corvallis community and its homeowners are embracing solar energy as well with help from […]

Now Hiring: SHIFT Electric Vehicles

Pioneered by Kirk Swaney in 1999, SHIFT EV offers vehicle parts and services for full sized conversions to electric power (mainly custom sports cars). In 2013, Kirk partnered with the Sustainability Office and Student Sustainability Initiative to install an on board level 2 electric vehicle smart charger in OSU’s Solar Trailer.  This charger greater utilizes the […]

Solar at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center

The North Willamette Research and Extension Center, the site of OSU’s newest solar array, has been successfully using the produced energy for more than 5 months now. The solar array is part of a larger OSU initiative to utilize alternative energy at its facilities. This installation, on the NWREC’s 160 acre farm across from Charbonneau and […]

Corvallis Performs a Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Sustainability Program specialist Scott Dybvad got in touch with us about the city’s first Greenhouse Gas Inventory. “The City of Corvallis released results of the first Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory. The final report shows overall greenhouse gas emissions for the community in 2012 were 1,257,115 Metric Tons Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (MT CO2e). The year 2012 […]

Electric vehicles and the Duck Curve

We love it when three of our favorite things come together: solar power, electric vehicles and flattening ducks! Greentech Media recently posted an article on the timing of electric vehicle charging and how it can compliment additional power sent to the electric grid from solar resources.  The basic principle is that as the sun shines […]

OSU news research and communications feature solar arrays in recent article

Content adapted from OSU News & Research Communications, Mark Floyd OSU takes part in Oregon University System’s “Solar by Degrees” Program Oregon State University recently brought online the largest of it’s ground mounted solar electric arrays, covering 6 acres on the Corvallis campus.  In a Tuesday article from OSU News & Research Communications, the five […]

Campus Conservation Nationals 2014 Results

Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) is the largest conservation competition for colleges and universities in the world! This friendly competition measures the percent reduction of electricity and water usage in the residence buildings on campuses. Last year, the competition saved over 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 1.5 million gallons of water! This year, our campus […]