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University of Wisconsin uses cooking oil to fuel boiler
Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have reported positive results of from a boiler that runs on cooking oil.
The boiler piece of equipment, which is used to heat water in the school’s Gordon Hall building, was purchased three months ago through a $25,000 grant from the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence.
School officials said that the boiler burns a little more than 1.5 gallons of used vegetable oil per hour and one gallon of this fuel heats between 225 and 250 gallons of water.
Because the boiler has proven cost-effective and easy to maintain, administrators at the university are also planning to install it in a new building that will be completed in a few years and are considering purchasing a similar machine for the Lakeshore area of the school’s campus.
Michael Kinderman, assistant director of the university’s housing department, said the school is attempting “to try something out and actually prove that it makes a difference” by utilizing the boiler.
Similar innovations in energy conservation may lead to careers for individuals who have received training from associates, bachelors or masters degrees in sustainable management or renewable energy, as the number of jobs in these sectors is expected to grow.
Employment opportunities for environmental engineers, whose median annual earnings were $69,940 in May 2006, are anticipated projected to increase by 25 percent over the next seven years. 
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