Grant provides Benedictine with tool to teach benefits of renewable energy

Forty-six percent of the electricity used in Illinois and 51 percent of the electricity used in the United States is generated by the burning of coal, which has been targeted by the U.S. Congress since the early 1970s for contributing to a variety of health-related problems.

Most of Illinois' electricity - 51.6 percent - and 20 percent of the nation's electricity is generated by nuclear power plants, which are touted as the clear-air alternative to coal. However, the 103 nuclear facilities in the U.S. could be susceptible to terrorism and the long-term effects of the discharge of low-level radioactive waste material into the environment is still unknown.

The need to minimize the nation's dependence on fossil fuels and the risks associated with nuclear energy have prompted calls for wider use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal. Many educational institutions are developing curricula promoting these alternative energy sources.

Benedictine University recently received a grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, Commonwealth Edison, the Foundation for Environmental Education and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to install a 5 feet by 15 feet solar panel next to the Birck Hall of Science. The system provides only a modest amount of electricity, but it does signal the University's commitment toward exploring more environmentally friendly ways to meet the nation's energy needs.

"It's a teaching tool," said John Mickus, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We will be using the solar panel to teach the concepts of renewable energy in some of our general physics courses, and we will use it as part of our science education program so that teachers can learn about renewable energy."

Compared to depletable energy sources such as coal, oil and nuclear, solar energy offers a clean renewable form of energy. Solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity (photovoltaic system) through the use of semiconductors such as silicon. When sunlight strikes these semiconductors, the solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms allowing the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity.

"Currently, solar panels are between 12.5 and 15 percent efficient," Mickus said. "Once we improve on that and make solar energy more cost effective, we can start replacing fossil fuels as an energy source. And if we can replace fossil fuels, we should be able to replace nuclear energy.

"I think we have an obligation to invest in the use of renewable energy," Mickus added.

mail Benedictine University 5700 College Road Lisle, IL 60532 key contacts Jean-Marie Kauth e-mail jkauth@ben.edu phone (630) 829-6272