Energizing Justice

Dylan Herlihy

Lighting, heating, even the internet – electricity and energy seemingly run all in the modern day, especially on a college campus. One of the most essential components of environmental sustainability now, and in the future, is renewable energy. After all, if Macalester College can not refrain from using fossil fuels to power the school, then it is only adding to the dual crises of climate change and environmental racism that it pledges to work against.

Image 1 (Fiscal Year 2020 – 2021 Campus Annual Energy Use Report)

While Macalester has made strides in progressing its development of renewable energy, certain architectural and even financial limitations have impeded many of the next steps the institution needs to make. Thus, sustainability proponents at Macalester College will be forced to consider alternative methods, and even ‘think outside the box’, in order to mitigate the demand of fossil fuel consumption on campus.

The purpose of this case study is to understand what Macalester has done, and what it is doing now, in relation to its expansion of renewable energy policies on campus. Then, this case study will relate just how important these policies are to hindering environmental injustice, particularly in Minnesota and the Twin Cities.

Image 2 (Fiscal Year 2020 – 2021 Campus Annual Energy Use Report

Research Methods

While a good portion of this case study is an objectively analytical examination of Macalester College’s Renewable Energy policies, it should be noted that the majority of materials regarding such policies are created and distributed by Macalester College.

Interpreting the meaning and trends of solar energy production on Macalester’s Campus can only be done using the data given from Macalester College. Additionally, many of the stances Macalester College has published about their own environmental goals have been extracted from resources made available on Macalester’s website, not specific about when these statements were officially published.

Regarding the specifics of renewable energy data, much of this was unable to be found on the school’s website despite there being a designated page for it. As explained by Professor Christie Manning, this is due to recent leadership overhaul in the school’s sustainability office department, and a subsequent lack of updates being made to the page (Christie Manning Ph.D., 2022).

A majority of this research was made available via Macalester College’s website, and a minority via the school’s archives.

Image 3 (Fiscal Year 2020 – 2021 Campus Annual Energy Use Report)

Context & Past Actions

A proper analysis into what Macalester College’s current relationship with renewable energy is now should begin with what it has been in the past. Since the late 2000’s, Macalester College has maintained an increased emphasis on renewable energy and sustainability as a whole. In the year 2007, Macalester’s President Brian Rosenberg signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (Macalester College, 2022).

A year later, the Sustainability Office on campus had been officially established (Macalester College, 2022), and a year after that the college had developed the school’s first sustainability plan (Macalester College, 2022). This 2009 plan included a specific climate action plan with the hopes of transforming Macalester College to becoming carbon neutral by 2025 (Macalester College, 2022). Since then, the college has fulfilled its two intermediate benchmarks of 2015 – a 17.5% reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions – and 2020 – a 35% reduction – in contrast to the levels of that of the 2006 - 2007 fiscal year (Macalester College, 2022). This optimistic reduction in emissions (see Image 4) can be attributed to an array of actions and projects taken across campus, not purely excluded to renewable energy efforts.

These efforts do however, amongst others, include adding solar panels on campus buildings and installing electric car charging stations which are powered by wind energy (Macalester College, 2022). Over the course of the 2018 - 2019 fiscal year, Macalester produced merely 13,785 kilowatt hours of solar and wind energy. After installing solar panels on the roof of the Leonard Center, the college exhibited 222,545 kilowatt hours of solar and wind energy over the course of the 2020 - 2021 fiscal year (Macalester College, 2022). While a mind-boggling 1,514% increase of combined solar and wind energy may seem incredibly promising (see Image 1), this statistic must be juxtaposed with the reality that those 222,545 kilowatt hours contributed merely to just 2.4% of the school’s total electrical consumption that fiscal year (Macalester College, 2022). Even though the college did reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions over that time span, there was less than a 12% decrease in metric tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (see Image 2). An acknowledgment of the positive steps that Macalester has taken, while also maintaining an acceptance of how little has still been done, is the first step towards addressing the need for more renewable energy on campus.

Image 4 ("Carbon Neutral." Macalester College. Last modified 2022.)

Current/Future Actions, Limitations, Solutions

In a November 2022 interview with Professor Christie Manning Ph.D., the Environmental Psychologist described many of the challenges that Macalester’s leadership and Board of Trustees is encountering in its pursuit of more renewable energy sources on-campus. To begin with, all significant increases in solar energy should be expected to plateau, as all the buildings that could support solar energy sources have already been utilized as such (Christie Manning Ph.D., 2022). While an expansion of this energy source may simply be at the mercy of new – and likely more sustainable – architectural projects on campus, the next step as indicated by Dr. Manning could be geothermal energy (Christie Manning Ph.D., 2022). This would evidently be the single most important investment anyways, as electricity on campus is only 24% of total energy consumed (see Image 3); the remainder belongs to fuel, with about 85.5% of that consisting of heater plant fuel (Macalester College, 2022). The main obstacle here for Macalester College’s Sustainability Office, and the main culprit of promoting Environmental Injustice on behalf of the college, is Xcel Energy: the college’s – and much of Minnesota’s – primary utilities provider. Currently, Xcel Energy is promoting themselves as a cause for good regarding the environment. Nonetheless, they are still a corporate monopoly according to Dr. Manning (Christie Manning Ph.D., 2022).

In 2021, Xcel Energy was aiming to build two new gas-fired plants; this would, according to environmental advocate Patty O’Keefe, “put out about 850,000 metric tons of CO2e/year, the emissions equivalent of putting an extra hundred thousand cars on Minnesota’s roads. This unnecessary pollution would especially hurt those who can least afford it, particularly in low-income communities or among children and the elderly.” (Sierra Club, 2021). Pellow commentates on this relationship between corporations and low-income populations himself, stating “...corporations tend to produce….fossil fuels that imperil consumers, fenceline communities, ecosystems, and the climate.” (Pellow, 9). While the heating infrastructure of an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage would eventually pay off economically, Dr. Manning explained that the large up-front cost of the system is a risk for the institution; in order to pay for the system, the school would have to re-allocate its financial priorities. Instead of that immediate money being distributed more evenly to places like financial aid and anti-racism – just to name a few – more of it would have to go to building the new heating system. This is an understandable concern, as the college does not want to have to ‘put all of its eggs in one basket’, per se. What can not be denied however is the effectiveness of the Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage. At Wageningen University in the Netherlands, an ATES system is being installed, and the research institution will save, “.....1.3 million m3 of natural gas every year and thus about 2,400 tons of CO2 emissions.” (Wageningen University and Research, 2021). If Macalester were to even hypothetically limit their CO2 emissions by 2,400 tons, that would mean cutting the school’s emissions by approximately a quarter, 10 times the impact the solar and wind energy had initially (Wageningen University and Research, 2021).

While the math does not exactly translate over from a European Research Institute to an American Liberal Arts College, the fact still stands that fuel is where Macalester needs to create reductions, and that an ATES system would prove consequential. For Wageningen, the new ATES system will also allow many of the buildings to transition to becoming gas-free, and will produce more electricity than the institution even uses (Wageningen University and Research, 2021).

Conclusion & Broader Implications

Back in 2010, The Mac Weekly published an article declaring how the wind turbine on campus proved to be more symbolic than anything else (Ruiz, 2010). The people interviewed in that article had their differing opinions on the turbine, but the consensus of interviewees in the article agreed on one major point: it did not do very much (Ruiz, 2010). To this day, the wind turbine adjacent to Olin-Rice likely still does not do all that much in terms of energy production. In the past 12 years however, Macalester has made important strides in progressing its renewable energy supply. It still has a ways to go however, and it absolutely must. It is a fact that low-income and African American people are most at risk from fossil-fuel pollution (Kowalski, 2019). As David Pellow states, Environmental Racism is one of the most distinctive ‘phenomenons’ of Environmental Injustice (Pellow, 5). With such a high population of minority communities in the surrounding areas, Macalester must distance itself as much as it reasonably can from the pollution of Xcel Energy, who still wishes to use fossil fuels through and beyond 2040 despite political and local opposition (Weinmann, 2022). Even if Macalester College has no choice but to work with Xcel Energy as the school’s main utility provider, every step we can do in cleaning our campus cleans the air in the communities around us. Cleaning the air in the communities around us allows for more health, less susceptibility to risk of pollution, and generally stops the wheel of environmental racism and justice. David Pellow writes that, “Environmental Justice reveals how power flows through multi-species relationships that make up life on Earth, often resulting in violence and marginalization for the many and environmental privileges for the few.” (Pellow, 3). Here, Macalester is in a position of great privilege, with the resources and abilities to reduce the marginalization of the many. For a school that wishes to be a catalyst, convener, and champion, what better place is there to start than there?

Positionality Statement

I should first recognize my own, personal positionality statement in relation to the data, conclusions, and recommendations that I will make in this case study: I am a white cisgender male who has been born in, and lived, his entire life within not just the United States of America but specifically Massachusetts. As a student here at Macalester College, I must acknowledge that it is easy to be particularly subjective of the issues at hand, whether too critical or too lenient; one of my goals while researching and writing this case study was to demonstrate both the progress and missteps that Macalester College has taken in becoming more renewable with its energy resources. In addition to that I must also acknowledge that I am still a first-year student on campus, so a greater understanding of school history will be lacking from my knowledge. Finally, as this case study – along with all the others – relate to the dire needs of many who face environmental injustice, I must acknowledge that I have never been personally affected by environmental injustice; this is something for which I take for granted too often, and something I try to work through here.

Renewable Energy: “Renewable energy is energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed…..Renewable energy sources are plentiful and all around us.” (United Nations, 2022).

Fossil Fuels: “Fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas….are non-renewable resources that take hundreds of millions of years to form. Fossil fuels, when burned to produce energy, cause harmful greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide.” (United Nations, 2022).

Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES): “ATES is an innovative open-loop geothermal technology. It relies on seasonal storage of cold and/or warm groundwater in an aquifer.” (Underground Energy, 2022).

Energy Justice

Keywords

Bibliography

"About - Sustainability." Macalester College. Last modified 2022. https://www.macalester.edu/sustainability/about/.

"America's Top Colleges for Renewable Energy." Environment America Research & Policy Center. Last modified August 17, 2020. https://environmentamerica.org/center/resources/americas-top-colleges-for-renewable-energy/.

"ATES – Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage." Underground Energy. Last modified 2022. https://underground-energy.com/our-technology/ates/#what-is-ates.

"Carbon Neutral." Macalester College. Last modified 2022. https://www.macalester.edu/sustainability/carbon-neutral/.

"Carbon Neutrality." Macalester College. Accessed 2022. https://www.macalester.edu/sustainability/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/2019/12/Accomplishments.Carbon-Neutrality.2019-Final.pdf.

Green Living at Mac. St. Paul, MN, 2007.

Kowalski, Kathiann M. "Study: Black, Low-income Americans Face Highest Risk from Power Plant Pollution." Energy News Network. Last modified December 11, 2019. https://energynews.us/2019/12/11/study-black-low-income-americans-face-highest-risk-from-power-plant-pollution/.

Manning, Christie, Ph.D. Interview by Dylan Herlihy, Gene Glover, and Charlie Burton. St. Paul, MN. November 15, 2022.

"Minnesotans Tell Xcel Energy to Reject Fossil Fuels, Focus on Clean Energy." Sierra Club. Last modified October 15, 2021. https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2021/10/minnesotans-tell-xcel-energy-reject-fossil-fuels-focus-clean-energy.

Ruiz, Diego. "Mac's Wind Turbine Generates More Hype than Energy." The Mac Weekly. Last modified October 21, 2010. https://themacweekly.com/62974/archive/macs-wind-turbine-generates-more-hype-than-energy/.

"Sustainability." Macalester College. Last modified 2022. https://www.macalester.edu/sustainability/.

Weinmann, Karlee. "Xcel Energy Is Recruiting Minnesota Cities to Thwart Governor's Clean Energy Agenda." Energy and Policy Institute. Last modified November 17, 2022. https://www.energyandpolicy.org/xcel-carbon-free-future-mn/.

"What Is Renewable Energy?" United Nations. Last modified 2022. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-renewable-energy.

"WUR Uses Groundwater for Heating and Cooling." Wageningen University and Research. Last modified June 29, 2021. https://www.wur.nl/en/newsarticle/WUR-uses-groundwater-for-heating-and-cooling.htm.

ActivitY & Resource Ideas

A large-scale activity that can be practiced – one that was in fact in use at Macalester in 2007 – is the “Campus War” (Green Living at Mac, 2007). While individual action may not have the same influence over systemic policy changes in campus infrastructure nor state politics, it can at least encourage many young adults to reflect on what they have – and how much of it they actually need. The way this activity was run in 2007 was by gathering several other Minnesota schools in the month of February to participate (Green Living at Mac, 2007). Throughout the month, there are different activities, such as a winter campout, turning off all the lights on campus, etc (Green Living at Mac, 2007). This would encourage students to conserve electricity – particularly plugged-in appliances and dorm lights – and fresh water usage. While this would be difficult to organize with multiple schools, it is still something that can be done from dorm to dorm, floor to floor, or even room to room. Another larger-scale activity that was promoted on campus more predominantly in 2007 was community engagement with local high schools to promote projects surrounding energy efficiency (Green Living at Mac, 2007). While this program likely no longer exists at Macalester College, students can still generate conversations with younger siblings, relatives, and friends to spark an interest in conservation. While individual action is never the big-picture solution in terms of climate change and environmental justice, it can be used as a spark to excite people about being eco-friendly. That simple thought of unplugging that one phone charger, shutting the faucet off tight, and prioritizing sunlight when you can are the little details that can potentially count in the end.

Recommendations

Macalester College is in, undoubtedly, a tricky spot to maneuver going forward. While Macalester is still stuck working with Xcel Energy for now, there are paths for the institution as a whole to continue pressuring Xcel Energy in the right direction. Students need to rally and vocalize their support for renewable energy and environmental justice on campus, and hold Macalester College accountable for being, “....a catalyst, convener, and champion of urban sustainability and environmental justice ideas and actions across and beyond campus.” (Macalester College, 2022). It is critical that Macalester students communicate with the institution about:

The importance of potentially reducing a majority of the school’s fossil fuel contribution, which would in turn:
- Allow the school to benefit economically from such infrastructure, in addition to reducing fossil fuel emissions on campus.
- Reduce the institutions’ liability in the indirect advancement of environmental injustice and the current climate crisis.
The importance in vocally supporting clean energy legislation in Minnesota.

Of course, Xcel Energy is still a corporate monopoly that controls much of the utility bureaucracy in this state, but that has not stopped the corporation being pushed in the right direction before. With enough vocalized support and pressure from students, perhaps the institution will then use their own position to echo the following requests to both Xcel Energy and the state government of Minnesota. Pellow comments how environmental injustice is not just about marginalization, but also the respect for grassroot support and hearing the voices of the people. (Pellow, 11).

Moving away from the construction of new fossil-fuel infrastructure, and instead advocating for the electrification of the grid using renewable sources such as solar, wind, and battery storage.
Remind Xcel Energy of its pledges towards committing to decarbonization.
Prioritize the well-being of the surrounding communities of fossil fuel plants; if there is no community support, there will be only backlash and unemployment, as well as potential pollution of communities.

Finally, I would recommend that Macalester College continues to take steps in advancing its – on and off campus – emphasis on the environment and renewable energy. This can be done by:

Prioritizing more sustainable infrastructure/architecture in future building projects (for more on that, see Charlie Burton’s case study). With this, place an emphasis on:
- More Solar and Wind Energy
- Less gas reliant fueling/heating systems
- LED Lighting
Initiating discussions with, and listening to, the ideas and thoughts of students as to how students can conserve more energy but more importantly, how the school can overcome its systemic limitations regarding further progress.
Developing a greater understanding/consciousness of where Macalester’s energy comes from, and working with local grassroots organizations to mitigate – or ideally eliminate – the environmental impact Macalester causes indirectly via natural resources and Xcel Energy.

special Acknowlegements

I would like to personally thank Professor Kiristina Sailiata for all of the guidance and instruction she provided not only on this toolkit, but throughout this semester in general. I would also like to thank my case study partners Gene Glover and Charlie Burton, whose inspiration and dedication is exemplified throughout this whole case study. Without them, this would not have been possible.

As it pertains to the research process, I would like to distinguish the work of Ms. Megan Johnson-Saylor in the Archives Department, who worked with us to take a look back at Macalester’s past policies. I would also especially like to thank Dr. Christie Manning, whom without her time, knowledge, and guidance, we would have not been able to truly understand many of the limitations that Macalester College is facing. Her interview with Charlie, Gene, and I was especially important for me, as much of the data regarding Macalester College’s energy has been concealed from public view at the moment – something I addressed earlier.

Finally, a special thanks to you, the reader. You, who very well might just go out there in the world – whether on or off Macalester College’s Campus – to implement and/or advocate for some of the recommendations I and the rest of my toolkit team have addressed here in this toolkit. Remember to always stay hopeful, even in the face of the greatest injustices.

Author bio

My name is Dylan Herlihy, and I am the author of this case study. I am a member of the Macalester College class of 2026, a current first-year undergraduate student, and a diver on the school’s NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Team. This is my first Environmental Studies and American Studies class at Macalester, but Environmental Justice has always been something important to me, and a topic I have thoroughly engaged with in the past.

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