The project will augment the campus’ steam generation by 35%.
Kemmel Dawkins, vice president of campus service, said “We want to reduce the amount of emissions from our various energy plants. It will be the primary provider of energy for East and West campuses, and as a result, our dependency on coal will be reduced by 70 percent.”
John Noonan, associate vice president of facilities, stated that the East Campus steam plant upgrade will provide the university extra capacity for heating West and East campuses, de-humidification of structures and sterilization of machinery for Duke Health.
Noonan said This plant will add overall capacity to the steam system. It’ll give us the right amount of capacity for now, but also provide for future growth.
Duke University has also renovated its West Campus steam plant to fulfill and surpass environmental norms. The plant, which is at full capacity and has no space for expansion, mainly burns coal. The plant also burns fuel oil and natural gas.
