Cogeneration plant awaits approval
Lucy Hough
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: News
Northern awaits the approval of a combined heat and power cogeneration plant that will provide heat and electricity for the entire NMU campus and operate entirely on wood byproducts - what is left over from logging operations in the Upper Peninsula.
"We see benefits here: we see benefits for the local economy, we see benefits for taking an unused product out of the woods and finding a use for it," said Art Gischia, director of purchasing and auxiliary services at NMU and head of this project. "We need jobs in the Upper Peninsula, and the bottom line is that if we can get this all pulled together, it's going to save us all dollars in the end."
Designs for an exclusively wood-burning plant come after a previous design that was challenged by Michigan's Sierra Club and eventually brought before the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C. for reconsideration. The former plans used coal as a back-up fuel, which is harmful to the environment. In an effort to expedite the construction of this plant, Northern looked again into the possibility of an exclusively wood-burning plant, and redirected the design.
The Sierra Club said that they are pleased with the new plan.
"It's certainly light years ahead of where they were with the coal plant as an option. Definitely, it's a better idea," said Lee Sprague, clean energy campaign manager of Michigan's Sierra Club.
Northern currently receives heat from Ripley's Heating Plant which is owned and operated by NMU and operates using natural gas. Electricity is received from Marquette's Board of Light and Power (BLP), a coal-burning plant. According to Gischia, constructing a facility of its own, Northern will save money and be more environmentally aware.
The project is currently going through Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for approval, and construction is hoped to begin in 2010, opening for use in 2012.
Plans for this plant also include a research facility that will be available for Northern students, primarily biology and chemistry majors, to explore alternative energies, moisture sampling, the conversion of wood to biofuel and other options in terms of fuel sources.
"We see benefits here: we see benefits for the local economy, we see benefits for taking an unused product out of the woods and finding a use for it," said Art Gischia, director of purchasing and auxiliary services at NMU and head of this project. "We need jobs in the Upper Peninsula, and the bottom line is that if we can get this all pulled together, it's going to save us all dollars in the end."
Designs for an exclusively wood-burning plant come after a previous design that was challenged by Michigan's Sierra Club and eventually brought before the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C. for reconsideration. The former plans used coal as a back-up fuel, which is harmful to the environment. In an effort to expedite the construction of this plant, Northern looked again into the possibility of an exclusively wood-burning plant, and redirected the design.
The Sierra Club said that they are pleased with the new plan.
"It's certainly light years ahead of where they were with the coal plant as an option. Definitely, it's a better idea," said Lee Sprague, clean energy campaign manager of Michigan's Sierra Club.
Northern currently receives heat from Ripley's Heating Plant which is owned and operated by NMU and operates using natural gas. Electricity is received from Marquette's Board of Light and Power (BLP), a coal-burning plant. According to Gischia, constructing a facility of its own, Northern will save money and be more environmentally aware.
The project is currently going through Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for approval, and construction is hoped to begin in 2010, opening for use in 2012.
Plans for this plant also include a research facility that will be available for Northern students, primarily biology and chemistry majors, to explore alternative energies, moisture sampling, the conversion of wood to biofuel and other options in terms of fuel sources.
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