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07/30/2011 02:41 PM

Going Green: Turning the body's energy into power

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We’ve all heard about wind and solar sources of alternative energy, but one program at Texas State University has students and faculty generating electricity just by from working out.

The gym at Texas State University has become a small power plant. When people work out on the machines, they’re not just expelling energy, they’re transforming it into electricity.

“The rotational energy here runs a generator and then its creating DC power that is converted by an inverter on the wall into AC power,” Steve Soukup with Texas State University said.

Soukup says that the purpose of the program is not to solve the world’s energy crisis, but to keep peoples’ minds open to the different ways that alternative energy can be created.

“I think it’s making a difference and I think everything we do makes a difference,” Soukup said. “The point of sustainable energy is not to solve all of the problems with one effort, the point is to explore a variety of means to produce alternative energy”

Click the video above to learn more.