In a letter addressed to the Bowdoin community, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley announced that the College will exceed its $3.7 million utility budget for this year?the most ever budgeted to date?by at least $1 million.
Longley urged students, faculty, and staff to be increasingly conscious of energy consumption and practice a number of energy conservation techniques that will help "mitigate the financial impact of rising fuel costs."
She stated that the College could save on electricity by switching from incandescent to compact fluorescent bulbs and by turning off lights and computers when they are not in use.
"Electricity is the College's most expensive energy commodity," she wrote.
The letter also addressed a new plan to lower most building temperatures to 68 degrees, a two-to-four degree drop from last year's average temperatures. The exceptions will be the Children's Center and Greason pool, where temperatures will remain higher.
In the letter, Longley stated that "For every degree reduction, we can save approximately three percent or $75,000 in costs based on today's pricing and achieve similar reductions in emissions."
Bowdoin is in the midst of purchasing the remainder of its heating fuel for this fiscal year. Heating fuel makes up approximately 50 percent of the utility budget.
"We have about 37 percent of our fuel purchases locked in," Longley said in an interview with The Orient. "But it's such a volatile market right now that we are not going to buy at these prices."
Longley attributed rising fuel prices to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the latter anticipated to strike the Texas and Louisiana coasts today and Saturday.
"We can always purchase through the spot market, or have same-day delivery, but the pricing would be worse. We buy in bulk to get discounted prices," Longley explained.
The College is in the process of converting one of its two large boilers, located at the Heating Plant, to accept natural gas, a renovation that will provide for more flexibility when buying and using fuel.
"This past summer, we spent $80,000 dollars to tap into the pipeline that runs down Route 1 from Canada. It was installed for the Brunswick Naval Air Station, and we are beneficiary of it. We can now tap into it. Since we've put in that infrastructure over the summer we now have natural gas running to our campus," Longley said.
In the past, most college buildings have been heated centrally through the Heating Plant with No. 2 heating oil, though some buildings, like the houses on Bath Road, fuel themselves with individual burners. The McLellan Building is among a limited number of buildings that are partially heated by electricity, Longley said.
"We will use natural gas for the main campus when the price is lower than No. 2 heating oil," Longley explained, adding, "It allows us to monitor the market and burn accordingly." Based on projections, Longley anticipates burning more natural gas than No. 2 heating oil this year.
Longley stressed the environmental benefits to using natural gas as opposed to No. 2 heating oil. She stated, "With natural gas, there are fewer carbon dioxide emissions released into the air. It is a more environmentally-friendly option."
The dual-fuel burner reflects Bowdoin's mission to implement more sustainable technologies, Longley said.
"We're trying very hard to do more sustainable building so that we're environmentally responsible." Longley added, "We have a little over $300,000 budgeted for energy projects this year, not including monies dedicated to sustainable design for the larger capital projects. By incorporating green standards, we can also increase efficiency."
A recent study conducted by Sitelines Facilities Asset Advisors, a consulting firm based in Connecticut, found that although Bowdoin's total energy consumption spending was on par with other New England colleges and universities of comparable size, that Bowdoin consumed more electricity and paid for more electricity than most other schools. Bowdoin was compared to Amherst, Connecticut College, Mt. Holyoke, Swarthmore, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan and Wheaton, all Sitelines clients.
Still, Longley was encouraged by recent efforts to curtail high costs and increase efficiency.
"Every school is facing this," she stated. "It will take effort on everyone's part, but we'll get through it."