Source: Ben Champion, 785-313-3085, champion@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010

ENERGY COMPETITION TO PIT K-STATE, MANHATTAN AGAINST KU, LAWRENCE

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University will be teaming up in 2011 with the city of Manhattan to try to beat the University of Kansas and Lawrence in a nine-month energy conservation competition.

The competition is part of the 2011 Take Charge Challenge organized by the Climate and Energy Project, http://www.takechargekansas.org.

The competition reward is $100,000 for energy efficiency or renewable energy investments.

The city of Manhattan formally joined the competition at the Nov. 2 City Commission meeting. K-State and city officials are currently building a leadership team and hiring a coordinator for the team's efforts. The competition will run from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2011. More details about events, programs, and how the competition will be measured will be outlined soon.

An upcoming event on campus, "Energizing K-State to Beat KU," will discuss some of these details. The presentation is at 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 15, in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union.

The organizers encourage all K-State students, faculty and staff, and the general public to attend to learn more about energy and how they can help K-State and the Manhattan community to win the competition.

K-State's Ben Champion, director of sustainability; Casey Lauer, director of energy and environmental programs; and Bruce Snead, mayor of Manhattan and Extension specialist in residential energy, will be on hand to discuss what defines energy, how K-State can use energy to the fullest, and competition details.