NC Cogeneration Plant
For immediate use March 21, 2000 -- No. 164
Federal government honors cogeneration plant for efficiency
CHAPEL HILL -- The federal government’s Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy today (March 21) will recognize the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s cogeneration facility for promoting efficient energy use during an awards program in Washington, D.C.
Carolina is one of four organizations, along with Rutgers University, that will receive certificates as part of a new Energy Star Combined Heat and Power Award program that recognizes exemplary cogeneration projects for increasing the nation’s electric generation efficiency.
EPA officials say such technology can dramatically increase the efficiency of electric generation and that the administration has set a goal of doubling national cogeneration facility capacity by 2010.
The new award recognizes projects that use at least 10 percent less fuel than state-of-the-art separate power-and-heat operations, said Christian Fellner of the EPA’s climate protection division. By significantly improving efficiency, projects like UNC-CH’s not only save money, but also reduce greenhouse gases and other air pollutants, he said.
Criteria for the award were being more efficient than a separate heat-and-power project and demonstrating other significant benefits, Fellner said.
UNC-CH’s cogeneration facility located off Cameron Avenue was the only project honored by the government that is not run primarily on natural gas, he said.
Completed in 1992, the UNC-CH facility uses advanced technology called circulating fluidized combustion, making it one of the cleanest coal-burning facilities in the nation, said Raymond E. DuBose, who is the cogeneration facility manager and will represent the university at the award ceremony in Washington.
UNC-CH’s cogeneration facility burns coal to generate and distribute steam to the campus and UNC Hospitals through about 40 miles of steam pipes and 10 miles of chilled water pipes. Steam is used for heating and cooling, as well as for heating domestic hot water, sterilization, humidification, cooking and cleaning. The plant also generates about one-third of the university’s electricity; the rest is purchased from Duke Power.
UNC-CH’s heating and air conditioning system serves about 200 campus buildings containing roughly 13 million square feet of floor space, DuBose said. The plant is capable of producing 650,000 pounds of steam per hour, while its generator can produce 28 megawatts of electricity.
"Our combined heat and power technology with which we cogenerate steam and electricity provides for beneficial use twice the energy from a pound of coal than does the average power plant in the United States," DuBose said.
The university’s need for steam for heat during winter and for air conditioning in the summer enables UNC-CH to generate power for little additional cost, he said.
"Our cogenerated power costs less than a penny per kilowatt hour compared to purchased power costs of about 4.3 cents," DuBose said. |
