Governor promotes use of alternative fuel
Gov. Gary Herbert visited USU Wednesday morning to officially declare the month of November as Alternative Fuel Vehicle Awareness Month, a declaration signed at USU’s alternative fueling station.
The event was held at USU because of the university’s dedication and perseverance to alternative fuel, said Alden Erikson, shuttle supervisor for Parking and Transportation Services.
“It has been a great morning for me here, working with Utah State and other businesses to find better ways to do things and better ways to use our energy,” Herbert said in a pre-signing speech. “We’re making sure that we have quality of life … in more environmentally sensitive ways.”
In its third year, AFV Month was supported by 47 mayors statewide, a huge increase from its eight supporters in 2010 and four the previous year.
“It’s a great honor to have the governor take time out of his day and come down,” Erikson said.
As part of USU’s Energy Efficiency and Innovation Tour, the governor was able to see USU’s efforts to improve the economy by taking a tour of USU’s alternative fueling station. The station features a slow-fill system and allows a bus to be out all day without refilling.
“I think we’re the only one in the state with this fueling system primarily for the CNG (compressed natural gas) fleet buses,” said James Nye, director of Parking and Transportation Services.
However, alternative fuel initiatives are nothing new to USU.
“We’ve been supportive of the whole idea for quite some time,” Erikson said.
USU purchased its first alternative fuel vehicles in 1999, at which time it also began using, almost solely, CNG for its shuttle system, said Dwight Davis, associate vice president for Business and Finance.
“Over the last decade, we have become an alternative fuel leader, with the largest refueling facility of all the higher education institutions in Utah,” Davis said.
By using CNG, which costs about 90 cents per gallon, USU saves $3,400 per year, per shuttle, and there are 10 shuttles in total, Davis said.
Joe Furse, a junior majoring in engineering and technology education, said he appreciates the cost-saving actions of using alternative fuel.
“An alternative fuel or energy source is only worth it if it can compete economically with current energy sources without artificial help in the form of subsidies,” he said.
Erikson said he thinks these alternatives are a good, sustainable way of putting student fees to use.
Trent Hunsaker, a graduate student studying English, said he would gladly pay more in student fees for the cleaner fuel technology the Aggie shuttles use.
Using cleaner fuel is not only cheaper for the university but also allows the university to improve air quality in Cache Valley, Erikson said.
“Our shuttle service transports between 6,500 and 7,000 students every day, displacing the emissions of thousands of single-occupancy vehicle trips on campus,” Davis said.
Kelsey Weller, a junior broadcast journalism major, said she loves that the university uses natural gas.
“I don’t mind one bit that my fees go toward something that is hopefully improving Cache Valley’s air quality,” she said. “I care about the air I breathe, and I’d prefer it to be clean air.”
Jessie Jackson, a senior majoring in history teaching said, “I think it’s a great idea, as long as it isn’t costing more money for us as students in the long run.”
Transportation Services is not the only group at USU pushing for sustainable transformations. As part of his tour, Herbert also visited Inovar, Inc. and the USU Innovation Campus Calibration and Optics Building, which are other sites where eco-friendly improvements are being researched and implemented.
The Innovation Campus at USU provides many resources and facilities to create growth in a technological atmosphere.
“Its not only the Aggie Shuttle and Transportation, but the university at large,” Erikson said.
– allie.jeppson3@gmail.com