A student-conducted energy audit of Western Carolina University won first place at the Appalachian Energy Summit in Boone, marking the third year in a row WCU students took the top prize. 

The team included 18 students, who undertook the project as their environmental science capstone project. The submission, “Evaluating Sustainability of Purchasing Practices at Western Carolina University,” measured and evaluated energy costs — both direct and indirect — of buying and using resources such as water, electricity, office supplies, electronics and fuel. 

“The research took about a year to complete,” said Julia Robinson, one of the project presenters. “We began it as a sustainability audit of WCU’s campus and then during the spring semester, we expanded on the research where we focused mainly on the indirect energy consumption occurring on our campus.”

Another WCU team also presented at the summit, examining the challenges of converting solar power to usable form. 

The summit, part of the University of North Carolina Energy Leadership Challenge, has convened annually at Appalachian State University for the past four years. This year projects from 80 students, including 15 out-of-state colleges and universities, were presented under the theme “A New State of Energy.”