EPA crowns Rider University as green power champ

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized Rider University this month as an Individual Conference Champion in the 2018-19 College and University Green Power Challenge. Rider said it uses more green power than any of the 11 schools in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

“Rider is committed to leading on sustainability issues in higher education and playing a role in creating a better environmental future for Rider students and all students,” said Rider Sustainability manager Melissa Greenberg .

Since April 2006, EPA’s Green Power Partnership has tracked and recognized the collegiate athletic conferences with the highest combined green power use within the program. The Individual Conference Champion Award recognizes the school that uses the largest amount of green power in a qualifying conference.

Rider beat its conference rivals with nearly 14 million kilowatt-hours of green power, representing 65 percent of its annual electricity consumption, according to Rider. According to the U.S. EPA, that usage is equivalent to more than 1,000 average American homes annually.

In the 2018-19 challenge, the 35 collegiate conferences and 109 schools competing collectively used nearly 3.6 billion kWh of green power.