Now, members involved in the sustainable energy effort are seeking student input and support before next month’s Board of Trustees meeting, at which the committee’s Energy Transition Plan — which aims to move the university toward using 100 percent renewable energy — will be reviewed and voted on.

At a discussion forum sponsored by ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, Monday night, about 30 students came together to learn and ask questions about the university’s Energy Transition Plan, or ETP, before ASMSU takes an official position on the plan.

ASMSU Vice Chair of Governmental Affairs Victor Draine said the purpose of the forum was to encourage student opinion and help guide ASMSU representatives to develop a position at its General Assembly meeting on April 5.

Draine said ASMSU most likely will be supporting the plan, but legislation has yet to be written.
Jennifer Battle, assistant director for the Office of Campus Sustainability gave a presentation on the basics of the ETP before opening a question and answer session to the audience.

Battle said talking to students and MSU community members is essential to illustrate how the ETP potentially will have an effect on people’s energy consumption habits.

“You can put in a lot of (technological) solutions, but if people aren’t educated on their impact … they either don’t use it or it’s not as effective,” she said.

Although no students submitted questions prior to the forum, several people asked questions of Battle, who asked for student input for final feedback before the April board meeting.

Several students expressed disappointment for the plan, saying the ETP’s goal to power MSU by 40 percent renewable energy by 2030 is not enough to build MSU’s commitment to sustainable energy. After reading a declaration stating their disappointment, a small group of students, some from MSU Greenpeace and MSU Beyond Coal, left the presentation midway.

Environmental studies and agriscience sophomore Lia Biondo said she was embarrassed by the students who left, saying although the plan may not be perfect, the students did not offer a solution of their own.

“We should educate the public regardless of how we do it,” she said.

Battle said as the plan develops, MSU will learn more about renewable energy and efficiency.

“I’m not looking for everyone to agree with what’s been forward,” she said. “We’ve never said this is the plan and it’s perfect.”

Throughout the meeting, a buzzing noise from the radiator occasionally interrupted the speakers, which Lynda Boomer, energy and environmental engineer with the MSU Physical Plant, said was a testament to wasteful energy practices. She said the noise was a waste of energy that could be fixed by updating MSU’s energy systems.

“The transition plan is going to move us to where we need to be,” she said. “This was an immediate need that had to be taken care of.”