Bowdoin Wins EPA Green Power Partnership Award

Story posted May 02, 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Bowdoin College a winner of its 2010-2011 College & University Green Power Challenge in recognition of its standing as the top purchaser of renewable energy among the schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).

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"Bowdoin College is proud to accept this award as we continue efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in 2020," says Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer S. Catherine Longley.

"Campus-wide conservation efforts and specific initiatives like the recent building energy competition, have helped reduce Bowdoin’s use of electricity."

Visit Bowdoin’s Building Dashboard, gauging real-time energy use among campus buildings.

As part of its Climate Action Plan, Bowdoin has continued its practice of the past several years of purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) from Maine generators in the voluntary market to offset all of its Scope 2 emissions (emissions from electricity use) that are not already sourced from facilities that qualify as renewable under Maine's two Renewable Portfolio Standards. Taken together, the voluntary market purchases and the compliance Renewable Portfolio Standard purchases offset 100% of Scope 2 emissions.

The 12,570,000 kWh of electricity that Bowdoin offsets with RECs from Maine sources is equivalent to one of the following (from the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator):


  • Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 1,703 passenger vehicles

  • CO2 emissions from 973,752 gallons of gasoline consumed

  • C02 emissions from the energy use of 1,054 houses for one year

  • Greenhouse gases avoided by recycling 3, 026 tons of waste rather than sending it to a landfill

Read about Bowdoin’s blueprint for carbon neutrality in 2020.

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