Teal Nation Goes Green

From the Chanticleer uniforms and eye-catching turf to enthusiastic fans clad in school colors, it’s a sea of teal at Coastal Carolina University Brooks Stadium on game days. The power running the show, however, is all green. That’s because Santee Cooper Green Power is fueling all CCU home football games. 

“We are always looking for opportunities that support our commitment to environmental sustainability,” said Jeremy Monday, Senior Director of Campus Environments at CCU. “It takes a lot of power to run a college football game, and partnering with Santee Cooper to power all Chanticleer home football games with Green Power allows us to share this commitment with all of our fans.” 

The excitement the fans have for the Chanticleers was proven as Green Power powered the full 2022 football season’s sold-out games. It’s a palpable energy for the game, for the season and for Green Power. 

“We’re super excited about that,” said Riley Ross, who was a senior at Coastal Carolina University in 2022. “The Green Power helps us preserve the environment and reduce our carbon footprint, as well as supporting green energy for the surrounding community.” 

“We want to be as green as we can as long as we can,” said Ray Causey, a CCU alumnus. 

CCU worked closely with Santee Cooper to purchase Green Power for its annual Zero Waste Game, sponsored by Horry County Solid Waste Authority, since 2017. The 2023 season will be the second year every home game will be powered by Green Power. 

In fact, the home game lineup now counts as one of the largest Green Power events in the state.

Santee Cooper Green Power is electricity generated from renewable resources like wind, solar and landfill gas. Santee Cooper Green Power helps preserve the environment, reduces demand on our non-renewable generation resources, and increases our energy independence. 

Santee Cooper’s statewide Green Power generating portfolio includes six landfill generating stations, nine solar projects and one wind turbine. Green Power is Green-e^® Energy certified and meets the environmental and consumer protection standards set forth by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions. Learn more at www.green-e.org. 

Green Power fits in nicely with CCU’s Sustain Coastal initiative, which was established in 2005 and coordinates sustainable services like recycling, food waste composting, water refill stations and energy conservation. 

“Environmentally friendly power and ‘Sustain Coastal’ just make a good fit,” said Tim Suggs, Energy Advisor at Santee Cooper. 

Dr. Wade Baird was a psychology professor at CCU for 30 years. Now, he comes to watch the Chanticleers play. 

“This was a mud field over here. We were lucky when we got 3,000 to 4,000 fans,” said Baird. “That was a good turnout. Now, we’re getting 20,000 fans. It’s a big, big business.” 

With that many fans, sharing a sustainable message is powerful. 

Coastal Carolina University is considering adding more Green Power to other sporting events like baseball and softball. With those additions, it could make CCU the largest user of Santee Cooper Green Power in the state. 

“I think a lot of students care about this initiative,” said Ross. “There’s a lot of environmental impact that goes into these games, so it’s great to have something to offset that.”