BYU WIND POWER PROJECT by Powergy Marketing

BYU WIND POWER PROJECT by Powergy Marketing

How our project came about… Commissioned by –Utah Wind Power –Cougars for Clean Power Goal: To establish BYU as a Clean Power Campus through its cumulative purchase of renewable energy to meet a percentage of campus-wide energy demand. Solution: The Purchase of Wind Power –Why wind power? –It is an inexhaustible, renewable, non- polluting resource.

Local Wind Power Headlines

Questions to Answer… What level of understanding do BYU students have with regard to renewable energy sources, such as wind power? Is there environmental motivation among BYU students to implement renewable energy at BYU? How much support is there among students for a one dollar per student, per semester wind power purchase at BYU? How much would students be willing to pay per semester to allow BYU use wind power as part, or all, of its energy source?

Methodology

Methodology ► Focus group of 7 ► Preliminary survey of 19 random people ► Surveying methods  Classrooms  Housing complexes  BYU phone directory  Students on campus

Focus Group

Focus Group Effects of education –What source of energy do we use right now? Is it the best? Conditional support of renewable energy –It isn’t always windy? Can’t there be a back up plan? How much will it cost? Environmental impacts –The people who work with coal have a shorter life span?

Preliminary Survey

Preliminary Survey ► Derived from focus group questions ► Main purpose  Usefulness of different surveying techniques  Variance of opinions of BYU students  Determine sample size ► 95% confidence level ► acceptable error ► variance ► 395 required

Findings & Analysis

Cross Tabulations Mean = 4.58 Conclusion: The more environmentally sensitive the person, the more willing to contribute to the purchase of wind power.

Mean = 3.97 Conclusion: The more severe the person perceives the depletion of natural resources, the more willing they seem to contribute to the purchase of wind power.

Mean = 4.96 Conclusion: The more severe the person perceives there to be a problem of insufficient water supply, the more willing they seem to contribute to the purchase of wind power.

Mean = 5.43 Conclusion: The more importance that is placed on the well-being of the environment in energy production, the more willing they seem to contribute to the purchase of wind power.

Mean = None Conclusion: The people that prefer solar or wind energy, seem to be more willing to contribute to the purchase of wind power.

Mean = 4.58 Conclusion: Females are more willing to contribute to the purchase of wind power than males.

Conclusion: The more willing the person is to pay one dollar per semester to contribute to the purchase of wind power, the more willing they are to give more than one dollar. Chi-Square = We are 99.99% confident that there is a statistically significant difference here.

Conclusion: Females are more willing to contribute to the purchase of wind power. Chi-Square = We are 99.99% confident that there is a statistically significant difference here.

Conclusion: It seems that nursing, fine arts and communications, and education majors are more willing to contribute to the purchase of wind power. On the other hand, those in the engineering and technology department are more polarized in their opinions and are either for or against the idea.

Correlations Correlation value =.45 Coefficient of determination =.21 Regression coefficient =.48 Conclusion: This correlation signifies that the stronger a student feels about preserving the environment, the more severe they perceive the depletion of natural resources to be a problem associated with energy production.

Correlation value =.51 Coefficient of determination =.26 Regression coefficient =.55 Conclusion: This correlation indicates that the stronger a student feels about preserving the environment, the more importance they place on environmentally friendly energy resources.

Limitations

Limitations ► Non-response error  Refusal of participation  No opinion ► Response error  Not a true expression of opinion ► Sample error  95% confidence level ► Inferences  Limited scope 2. The following are problems associated with energy production. Rate the following according to how severe the problem is here in Utah. (Please circle one) Not a problem Severe problem a. Depletion of natural resources Don’t know b. Air pollution Don’t know c. Insufficient water supply Don’t know d. Hazardous wastes Don’t know e. Climate change Don’t know f. Mercury contamination Don’t know

Conclusions

Conclusions The majority of students are fairly concerned about the environment. The majority of students are either willing or somewhat willing to contribute to the purchase of wind power at BYU. The majority of students are willing to pay more than $1 to purchase wind power. The majority of students seem to have limited knowledge and understanding of energy production and the impacts of energy production.

Recommendations

Recommendations ► Students need to be more educated on energy production and renewable energy resources. ► Utah Clean Energy should continue with their plan for implementing wind power at BYU ► The purchase amount per student for wind power could be placed at more than $1.

Questions???