Minnesota Power was a major sponsor of the “Brighter UMD Energy Event” fundraiser conducted last spring at UMD and at Daugherty’s Hardware and Appliances. MP donated $1 to $5 for every energy efficient lighting product sold during the sale, up to a maximum of $10,000.

The money received by UMD will be used to defray the costs of the university- subsidized U-Pass program, which allows students, faculty and college staff to receive free rides on Duluth Transit Authority buses anytime, anywhere. During the sales event, a total of 8,856 energy-saving products were sold, from compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to a variety of fixtures.

Steve Lent and Tim Gallagher presented the check on behalf of MP to Joe Michela, Director of Auxiliary Services at UMD and to John Brostrom, UMD’s U-Pass coordinator. All four men said the event was a success on several levels. The energy saved by use of the products sold at the event amounts to about 668,000 kilowatt-hours, or enough electricity to power 58 homes for a year.

That equates to an annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 723 tons, which translates into 145 cars being taken off the road. Reducing traffic is a valuable goal for Brostrom, who said the U-Pass bus program, funded in part by the MP-sponsored lighting event, is demonstrating to UMD students the many advantages of riding a bus. And it’s cutting down on the number of cars on campus.

“We think this is helping students develop mass transit habits for the rest of their lives,” Brostrom said. He added that the U-Pass program now carries 50,000 riders a month, with more than 100 bus stops on the UMD campus each day while school is in session. Since U-Pass began in 2000, the UMD student body has grown from about 9,000 to 11,000 and several new buildings have been built on campus. But, according to Michela, the increasing number of bus riders has eliminated the need for more parking lots.

Michela said the acceptance of public transit among the college community has grown in tandem with peoples’ willingness to use energy-efficient light fixtures, particularly CFLs. UMD has installed Energystar-rated fixtures and bulbs all across the campus. He praised Minnesota Power for providing programs and rebates that help drive the demand for energy efficiency. “We thought it would get to the saturation point, but it hasn’t,” Michela said. “When you can get the bulbs and fixtures so affordably, and then see the savings in electricity, it changes your behavior.”