UC San Diego Students
‘Power Down’ in Energy-Saving Contest

March 30, 2009

By Christine Clark

Students, faculty and staff at the University of California, San Diego will help green the environment by turning off their computers as part of a nationwide intercollegiate energy-saving competition called “Power Down for the Planet” March 30 through April 17.

The winning university will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, based on the highest percentage of on-campus staff, student and faculty pledges toward use of computer power management tools.

Students from UC San Diego and 17 other universities are also being asked to participate in a viral video competition to creatively demonstrate the importance of energy-efficient computing to the global environment.

“The competition is part of UC San Diego’s effort as one of the nation’s greenest universities to search for climate-change solutions and environmental sustainability,” Maggie Souder, UC San Diego’s sustainability coordinator, said. “Our campus community can make a small change on a daily basis like powering down a computer that reduces power consumption and helps the environment.”

Virtually all personal computers (PCs) support power management, but an estimated 90 percent of all desktops currently run with this feature turned off. The use of power-management features on a typical PC can save an average of 603 kilowatt of energy per year, which equals a greater CO2 savings then lowering your home thermostat two degrees Fahrenheit in the winter, washing your clothes only in cold water, or giving up your car two days out of every month.

UC San Diego is one of six founding universities of the Power Down for the Planet campaign, which was designed to help universities save on their energy bills and produce fewer emissions that lead to climate change. UC San Diego is hosting an intercollegiate pledge drive among its six colleges. Student volunteers will collect pledges at sign-up tables on Library Walk.

“Students might not know that the computer on their desk can contribute to climate change,” said Jennifer Tsai, a senior at Earl Warren College. “This competition will help students learn to conserve energy and demonstrate that we all can be eco-leaders to fight global warming.”

The competition is being organized by the Climate Savers Computing Initiative in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program. The initiative is a nonprofit organization committed to cutting IT-related waste in half by 2010.

UC San Diego is currently implementing one of the largest renewable energy programs among the nation’s universities. A solar photovoltaic project currently under way will produce 1 megawatt of peak electricity, and the university is continuing to identify means to reduce energy usage and to enhance reliance on renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics, wind, algal biofuels and a 2.8-megawatt fuel cell powered by methane gas recovered from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. These projects make UC San Diego a leader among American universities in renewable energy production.

Media Contact: Christine Clark, 858-534-7618 or ceclark@ucsd.edu