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SUNY ESF to Install Tree-Powered Fuel Cell on Campus

May 16, 2005 by Jeff Shepard

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF, New York) announced plans to install a fuel cell next to Walters Hall, which will use trees for fuel and will power 8% of the campus with renewable energy. University researchers say it will allow them to use one of upstate New York's natural resources to create renewable energy.

The campus has about 600,000 acres of farm land that is currently not being cultivated, as well as about 600,000 acres of land that is like farm land, but which cannot be used as farm land because the soil is either too wet or too dry. The trees, however, were bred to grow quickly in the poorest soil conditions. The willow shrubs will be turned into a gas that will be used to power the fuel cell.