Maryland Higher Education Commission

Montgomery College Green Initiatives

Click here to read the Montgomery College FY 2010 Resource Conservation Plan.

1) For FY 2009 and FY 2010, Montgomery College purchased 60% of its electricity need through Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from wind power.

2) For calendar year 2008, Montgomery College recycled 69% of its waste stream, far exceeding Montgomery County’s legally mandated 50% recycling requirement. This resulted in Montgomery College receiving Montgomery County’s Excellence in Recycling Award. Montgomery College has earned this award six out of the past eight years. In addition, Montgomery College has increased the poundage of materials recycled from one million in 2002 to three million in 2008.

3) Montgomery College reduces its daytime peak electricity demand by producing ice at night and melting this ice during the day for cooling buildings on all three of its campuses.

4) Montgomery College generates 160,000-kilowatt hours of electricity and 183,000-kilowatt hours of thermal energy from photovoltaic cells and tubular solar arrays.

5) Montgomery College’s four central cooling plants use high efficiency ammonia chillers, which are non-CFC and non-emitters of greenhouse gases.

6) Building energy consumption at Montgomery College is reduced by the efficient management of heating and cooling through the use of modern direct digital control systems, variable frequency drive motors and pumps, CO2 and occupancy sensors in rooms, and increased insulation in buildings’ roofs and exterior walls and windows. This has kept the British thermal unit (Btu) consumption per-square-foot of space constant while utility costs have risen.

7) Montgomery College is a partner in Montgomery County’s consolidated utility procurement process, which allows for the acquisition of electricity and natural gas in an economy of scale pricing beneficial manner.

8) Montgomery County Government requires that County-funded capital project buildings meet LEED Silver certification. Montgomery College currently has one science building under construction and another science building in design that will both meet the higher certification level of LEED Gold.

9) Montgomery College has a full-time professional engineer on staff who serves as the College’s Energy Manager.

10) Montgomery College encourages students to use public transportation by providing free bus service on the Montgomery County’s Ride On bus system. At the College’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, this service has contributed to the single person use of vehicles to be less than 50 % the student population.

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