{"id":3174,"date":"2025-01-10T19:02:31","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T19:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/?post_type=stories&p=3174"},"modified":"2025-03-12T22:36:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T22:36:31","slug":"eagle-red-going-green","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/news\/eagle-red-going-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagle Red, Going Green"},"content":{"rendered":"

A<\/span>cross the nation<\/span>, the use of clean, renewable energy sources is revolutionizing the way Americans power their lives and livelihoods. Already, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, alternatives to the carbon-based status quo<\/i> are generating hundreds of billions in economic activity, with much more to come.<\/p>\n

Now, thanks to a Washington Climate Commitment Act grant from the state\u2019s Department of Commerce, EWU is poised to play a bigger part in pioneering more planet-healthy ways of fueling our future. Earlier this fall, EWU was awarded close to $2.2 million to support two projects that will advance both Washington\u2019s and the university\u2019s clean energy goals. Project leader Erik Budsberg, EWU\u2019s director of sustainability, says the clean energy initiatives will also provide applied-learning opportunities for Eagle students who one day hope to solve tough climate challenges as working professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Erik
Erik Budsberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThese learning opportunities will give students a chance to get hands-on experience as they build careers that will ultimately tie into the clean energy revolution and help them secure good jobs\u00a0 <\/span>\u2014 jobs in which they can help address the root causes and impact of climate change,\u201d Budsberg says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bulk of the funding, $1.9 million, will support development of a carbon dioxide capture component for the university\u2019s natural-gas powered steam heating system. EWU will partner with CarbonQuest, a local engineering and manufacturing firm, to implement this \u201cdemonstration carbon capture system,\u201d which will reduce emissions while providing a research space for investigating new, emission-reduction technologies. <\/span><\/p>\n

The hands-on study of emission capture, Budsberg says, will position Eastern to provide a road map for other institutions and businesses seeking to mitigate their own near-term, carbon-emission challenges \u2014 all while planning for deeper decarbonization in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

The state also awarded EWU a $275,000 planning and pre-development grant to explore installation of a 3.5-megawatt solar-energy system. Among the issues to be investigated, Budsberg says, are potential construction challenges, utility impacts and interconnection agreements.<\/span><\/p>\n

EWU\u2019s projects were among 46 grants funded as part of the Washington Climate Commitment Act. \u201cWe\u2019re very thankful to the Department of Commerce and the state of Washington for seeing the potential for clean energy development in Eastern Washington and, specifically, at Eastern Washington University,\u201d Budsberg says.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across the nation, the use of clean, renewable energy sources is revolutionizing the way Americans power their lives and livelihoods. Already, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, alternatives to the carbon-based status quo are generating hundreds of billions in economic activity, with much more to come. Now, thanks to a Washington Climate Commitment Act…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":3176,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-3174","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-research","stories_tags-fall-winter-2024-25","stories_tags-magazine-featured"],"acf":{"subheading":"State funding will help Eastern lead the way to a more sustainable future.","featured_image_format":"cover","display_featured_image":false,"display_byline":false,"display_date_published":false,"featured_video":"","Links":false,"Resources":false,"page_override_title":"","page_hide_sidebar":false,"page_enable_page_nav":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/3174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/3174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3179,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/3174\/revisions\/3179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}