The green movement at UCSD has gathered substantial momentum over the last five years: Already, the university generates 80 percent of all the energy it consumes. Aside from having all the right scientific resources at our fingertips, a good amount of UCSD’s sustainability efforts can be credited to a dedicated few: students, faculty and volunteers donating their personal time and prowess to make good on the campus’ claim to be one of the greenest universities in the nation.
For the last two years, solar-energy entrepreneur Byron Washom has been doing just that: applying his vast knowledge of energy grids, renewable energy, recycling natural gas and creating zero waste to our current situation.
“It’s like jumping on a train already running down the tracks, and it’s already headed where I wanted to go,” Washom said. “I haven’t worked this hard in 20 years. I love it.”
After two decades as president of Advanco Corp. — the self-founded environmental-technology consulting firm that set a world record in 1984 for converting 29.4 percent of solar energy to the grid — Washom said he is hoping he can preserve the campus spirit that attracted him to UCSD in the first place, when his son began attending the university. Washom soon came on as a volunteer for the school’s sustainability efforts.
This past September, Washom became the campus’ first director of “strategic energy initiatives.” The position was specially created for Washom to oversee the implementation of sustainable technology on campus, act as a consultant for green student organizations and oversee a new plan that’ll ensure UCSD meets its energy needs in the most environmentally safe and cost-effective manner possible. He has advised organizations like the World Bank, International Finance Corp., the International Energy Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy on employing clean-energy technologies here and abroad.
According to Washom, green technology is rapidly gaining international attention, and — in the dour face of a stagnant economy — UCSD’s initiatives are pushing the envelope.
Not long after being hired, Washom spoke on behalf of the university when he voices his support for a proposal led by SDG&E (in conjunction with 28 other businesses and organizations including CleanTech San Diego and Qualcomm). The plan suggested creating a smart grid — a state-of-the-art electricity network connecting consumers and suppliers in San Diego — and would produce up to 3,200 jobs in Southern California. The proposal was directed at the Obama administration, which set aside $4.5 billion for smart grids nationwide.
Just as Washom was entering his new position, the university was also installing one megawatt of photovoltaic solar panels atop the Gilman Parking Structure and initiating construction of a 2.4-megawatt fuel-cell system powered by Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Facility — which will replace carbon-based fuel with a methane-based alternative.
Washom said a substantial push for the university’s green ambitions has come from activists within the student body. And, as a host of energy initiatives pick up steam, he said students are becoming more and more involved with the innumerable projects and operations on campus.
But good intentions can’t go anywhere without the funds to back them. This past November, a huge chunk of funding was gifted Jacob’s School of Engineering students, who wrote a grant proposal that secured $154 million of federal funds for the development of clean, renewable energy. According to Washom, it comes down to momentum: Once you start getting grants, it’s a lot easier to get even more.
“I defy anyone to show me another campus which has the same composition of support for sustainability as UC San Diego,” Washom said. “To know us is to love us.”
Readers can contact Kerry Fugett at [email protected].
