POCONO TOWNSHIP -- A community college in the Poconos is getting some recognition from its energy-saving devices.
Northampton Community College's Monroe Campus near Tannersville was named sixth on a list of higher education sites in the country for energy saving.
For the last two years, solar panels a this wind turbine at Northampton Community College near Tannersville have generated a lot of energy. So much so, the campus is being recognized for its efforts by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
"we had a report that showed that last year, 41 percent of our electricity was generated from our solar panel system which is pretty remarkable given the size of the campus and what we have here," said NCC dean Matt Connell.
The campus ranks sixth highest for energy saving out of all colleges in the U.S.
And its ranked 21st for annual on-site power usage in the EPA Green Power Partnership program.
"Because of the solar panel system and the wind turbine and our geothermal wells, we have prevented almost 500 tons, this past year, of carbon dioxide being pumped into the environment by the burning of fossil fuels," said Connell.
The campus has spent nearly $4 million on going green and people here think it's paying off.
Students at the campus tell us the ranking are a great accomplishment and they hope other campuses follow the example.
"Other schools might look at this school and try to do the same thing to help the cause and stuff like that," said Nasirah Muhammad, East Stroudsburg.
Others hope to see even more energy saving efforts down the road.
"It's a good sign for those who go here and who support the solar energy system that actually helps the environment," said Johnathan Lindstedt, Henryville.
Campus officials hope to continue their high ranking reign with a goal of one day sliding into the top spot.
