Guest Blogger: Are American Colleges Living Labs for Renewable-Energy Use?

This first item was not a session at the AASHE conference, but is a guest blog post from AASHE staffer Niles Barnes on the "Buildings & Grounds" blog at the Chronicle:

What worries me is that I don’t see much happening with renewable-energy sources such as ocean thermal, ocean current, or tidal power. Is it cost that is holding back development of these and other potential resources?

I’m interested in hearing from others who may be involved in or know of other innovative and creative renewable-energy projects on campuses. What else is being studied, installed, or perhaps flying under the radar? Will the United States, through the leadership of colleges and universities, reach the goal of achieving all renewable electricity production by 2018, as Al Gore has advocated? Is there specific legislation that the next administration will need to support to encourage the development of the necessary infrastructure?