2008 Woodie Awards
Miami puts $17 million toward university coal plant renovations
Roger Sauerhaft
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Front Page
Construction began behind Miami University's Peabody Hall this fall to comply with tightening emissions legislation being handed down by the federal government.
Miami's only steam plant, located behind Peabody Hall on Western campus, supplies Miami with all of its steam through burning coal and is currently undergoing about $17 million in upgrades, according to University Engineer Paul Wenner.
He said about $11 million would go to upgrading the pollution control systems in compliance with a federal bill enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rest will go to electrical upgrades to handle this new equipment such as new
emergency generators.
"For the academic and administrative buildings, the funds come from many different sources including state funds to support campus operations, state subsidy, tuition, investment income, as well as many others," said Jim Haley, associate vice president of facilities at Miami, via e-mail. "There is no specific tie between the utility costs and the source of money to cover those costs. For residence and dining halls, their budgets are generally supported by room and board fees."
Therefore Haley confirmed that this was one of the many factors of the rising cost of living on Miami's campus.
The equipment is being installed to help remove much of the pollution given off by the current coal furnace.
"The foundations for the equipment, they are basically baghouses and scrubbers that take a lot of the pollution out of the gas that goes out through the stack," Haley said. "There are a series of projects going on at the steam plant. We do burn coal, and there was a law that was passed and then an EPA rule that came out that caused us to have to examine the operating of the plant relative to the stack particulates and the potential pollution. We made the decision as a result of that to do an upgrade to our plant emission control system."
Haley said that after deciding to upgrade the emission control system, his department realized that the additional fans and motors called for further changes to be made in the electrical system, which further increased the cost. Putting in the emission control system without the proper electrical system to support it, would be inefficient, according to Haley.
Miami's only steam plant, located behind Peabody Hall on Western campus, supplies Miami with all of its steam through burning coal and is currently undergoing about $17 million in upgrades, according to University Engineer Paul Wenner.
He said about $11 million would go to upgrading the pollution control systems in compliance with a federal bill enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rest will go to electrical upgrades to handle this new equipment such as new
emergency generators.
"For the academic and administrative buildings, the funds come from many different sources including state funds to support campus operations, state subsidy, tuition, investment income, as well as many others," said Jim Haley, associate vice president of facilities at Miami, via e-mail. "There is no specific tie between the utility costs and the source of money to cover those costs. For residence and dining halls, their budgets are generally supported by room and board fees."
Therefore Haley confirmed that this was one of the many factors of the rising cost of living on Miami's campus.
The equipment is being installed to help remove much of the pollution given off by the current coal furnace.
"The foundations for the equipment, they are basically baghouses and scrubbers that take a lot of the pollution out of the gas that goes out through the stack," Haley said. "There are a series of projects going on at the steam plant. We do burn coal, and there was a law that was passed and then an EPA rule that came out that caused us to have to examine the operating of the plant relative to the stack particulates and the potential pollution. We made the decision as a result of that to do an upgrade to our plant emission control system."
Haley said that after deciding to upgrade the emission control system, his department realized that the additional fans and motors called for further changes to be made in the electrical system, which further increased the cost. Putting in the emission control system without the proper electrical system to support it, would be inefficient, according to Haley.
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