Princeton-Blairstown Center

Our commitment to the environment and to sustainable forms of energy production go hand in hand with our programming for inner-city youth. We believe that environmental concerns and social inequities are not mutually exclusive problems.  We also believe that Princeton-Blairstown Center is an ideal setting to effectively address both.

Our environmental sustainability efforts at our Blairstown campus include three capital projects:

Solar
Circa 1978, PBC built a washhouse with solar panels on the roof that provided hot water. At about the same time, we added ground level solar hot water panels to the kitchen and Hunt Lodge.  In 2007 we installed a nine kilowatt photovoltaic solar generator on the roof of Egner Lodge. It helps supply the energy needs of our campus.  See how much energy it is producing in real time here!
            
Hydro
In 1984, PBC installed a five kilowatt hydrogenerator that produced half of the facility's energy needs at the time. This project was the culmination of Princeton University Civil Engineering student, Walt Hallagan’s ’79 senior thesis. This system generated electricity until 2003 and was upgraded in 2007.

Wind
Circa 1980, a windmill was installed at the edge of Bass Lake that supplied energy for batteries in Hunt Lodge.  The production of electricity from the wind turbine proved to be erratic and the labor of moving batteries made this system less helpful than we had hoped.

At our Administrative Offices on the University campus
The administrative staff at Princeton-Blairstown Center participates in the student-initiated bicycle usage program (U-Bikes) sponsored by the University's Office of Sustainability.  Bicycles and helmets are available for daily trips around campus, reducing the use of cars for intra-university travel.