There is going to be a new power source in town, and it's coming from a place you might not expect.
The EcoLine pipeline, which will pipe enriched and purified gas from Waste Management's Rochester landfill to UNH's cogeneration plant, was completed over winter break.
This brings the university one step closer to becoming the first university in the nation to use landfill gas as a primary energy source.
The gas is purified at a processing plant in Rochester at Waste Management's Turnkey Recycling and Environmental Enterprise Facility. It is then piped underground 12.7 miles to UNH's cogeneration plant. The cogeneration plant captures waste heat normally lost during the production of electricity and uses the energy to heat the buildings on campus.
Landfill gas should replace commercial natural gas in the cogeneration plant in February once the Rochester processing plant finishes testing.
The project will pay dividends to the wallet and the environment.
"Financially, the project will stabilize campus energy costs," said Paul Chamberlin, assistant vice president of UNH's Energy and Campus Development Division. "That's an important benefit in light of the recent instability in the energy costs."
Environmentally, landfill gas is classified as a renewable energy source. The carbon-neutral gas will replace non-renewable commercial natural gas.
"The project dramatically reduces our use of non-renewable fossil fuel with all of the associated benefits," said Chamberlin. "Over the life of the project, it will also reduce our carbon footprint and, for the region, the amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere."
UNH Office of Sustainability Program Coordinator Brett Pasinella agreed.
"EcoLine is a major step forward in sustainability at UNH," said Pasinella. "It will greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help the university meet its goals for the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC)."
The first testing of the pipeline, held on Jan. 13, didn't go smoothly. Rochester residents reported smelling what seemed to be gas, but it turned out to be Methyl mercaptan, a harmless odorant added to odorless gases such as natural gas.
"There was never a public safety risk and the valves were closed in less than three minutes," said the university in a statement. There have been no incidents since.
The final price tag for the project has surpassed the original estimate of $45 million due to increases in the cost of energy and materials following the economic downturn, according to Chamberlin.
"Unfortunately, we were placing orders and starting into construction when prices were going up," he said.
Part of the cost included modifications to the cogeneration plant, according to Larry Van Dessel, executive director of UNH Facilities Design and Construction.
"The project has required numerous modifications within the existing plant," said Van Dessel. "In general the landfill gas is considered medium BTU verses natural gas which is considered high BTU… The difference causes systems (compressors, valves, piping, etc.) to need some modifications to accommodate the higher flow rate."
The EcoLine project has been years in the making.
"The idea started in a casual conversation between friends who happened to work at Waste Management and the university, respectively," Chamberlin said. "They realized that the landfill was producing large amounts of gas and that the university was nearing completion of a COGEN plant that would need lots of gas for fuel."
The next three years were spent developing and testing the idea. The university's trustees heard the proposal and approved it during the summer of 2007. Construction began that August.
More than 100 landfills in North America have small projects underway. Waste Management has had landfill gas-to-energy facilities for over 20 years.
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