climate action
University Aims For Sustainability with Renewable Energy Projects
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The University is trying to renew its permit to operate the Cornell University Hydroelectric Project, which includes a dam, turbines and associated structures which have been on Fall Creek for decades, providing energy to campus. Renewable energy initiatives like the hydroelectric plant are a part of Cornell’s goal of a carbon neutral campus by 2035. According to a Federal Energy Commission Report, the average annual power generation from 2013 to 2018 was over 4,500 megawatt-hours. All the power produced by the plant is used to fuel Cornell’s main campus. The hydroelectric project is designed as a “run of the river operation,” meaning that Cornell uses water as it flows in Fall Creek and does not store water.