The upgrades will impact all facilities on the 320-acre campus, and curb the university’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Bill Perry, president of EIU, said: “Like many universities, our list of needs across campus is much larger than the financial resources available. This programme allows us to make critical improvements and keep our facilities comfortable and functional for years to come. Plus, we’re able to reduce our carbon footprint at the same time. It’s an ideal solution for the university and surrounding community.”
The focal point of the programme is the construction of a new steam plant on the southeast corner of campus that will be driven by two large biomass gasifiers. The plant will use wood chips sourced from the local logging industry to generate steam and heat buildings on campus. And it will replace the university’s aging steam plant, which is inconveniently located in the center of campus, consumes more than 10,000 tons of coal per year and requires constant maintenance.
Through biomass gasification, the wood chips are heated in an airtight, oxygen-deprived chamber until they break down to create a synthetic gas that burns similar to natural gas. The gas is then used to fire the boilers, giving the university a carbon-neutral solution for heating its facilities. As a result, all of the steam heating load for the university will be met through a renewable resource.
As part of the new plant, Honeywell will also install a small turbine that uses excess steam to produce electricity. The turbine is expected to generate more than 2.9 million kWh of electricity per year, reducing the amount of energy the university purchases from the grid and providing another environmentally friendly energy source.
