U of M cuts energy use by 5 percent, saves $2 million

The University of Minnesota has cut energy use at its Twin Cities campus by 5 percent over the past year, which is expected to save the school more than $2 million in energy costs annually.

U of M officials say some of the energy savings come from employees and students pledging to turn out lights when they leave a room or not leaving computers on during the night.

Mike Berthelsen, who's in charge of facilities at the university, says over the last year they've also invested more than $1 million making buildings on campus more energy efficient.

The university is also scheduling classes in fewer buildings to save on heating and cooling costs, he said.

"Our goal is to get through a quarter of the campus every year to make sure we're tuning up and operating those buildings as effectively and efficiently as we possibly can," Berthelsen said.

The 5 percent reduction in energy use means the university is preventing 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere annually, Berthelsen said.