Colleges and universities face unique challenges when it comes to meeting their energy needs. Campuses are discrete communities with their own residential, management, hospitality, and even commercial facilities. As with any community, a campus’ energy requirements can be substantial. Colleges and universities need to find ways to power up their classrooms, administrative buildings, residences, and dining halls. This is no small task.
The volatility of energy prices that has characterized the past generation has taken a toll on college and university administrators. In an increasingly competitive higher education world, where price often influences which institutions students choose to attend, colleges and universities need to find ways to keep energy costs in check.
Likewise, schools need access to reliable sources of energy. They can’t afford disruptions to fuel supplies when thousands—or tens of thousands—of resident students are reliant on the school for heat for their rooms and power for the computers and other equipment they need to do their school work. And of course classrooms and other campus facilities need uninterrupted sources of energy to meet day-to-day needs.
That’s why colleges and universities should consider taking control of their energy requirements by producing the renewable energy they need themselves. As the green energy revolution has begun to take hold, many institutions have already started to experiment with limited production strategies, building some solar, wind, and geothermal infrastructure to help supplement the power they obtain from local utilities.
Though typically limited in scope, these initiatives provide the security of fuel diversity while promoting sustainability. But for larger campuses with greater energy needs, or even smaller campuses that just want a more substantive energy policy, a larger-scale approach may be called for. For many campuses, the solution can be found in the development of independent energy districts.
Independent energy districts are small power plants that are located on a campus and operated by the college or university. They are sized to meet the specific energy needs of the campus, and they can be configured to operate on most fuel sources, including oil, natural gas, propane, or biofuels. They also provide a remarkable degree of flexibility; if the fuel source that’s being used experiences price spikes or shortages, independent energy districts can be reconfigured to burn a different fuel.
A Natural Choice
Today, natural gas is a particularly attractive fuel because it combines affordability with availability and sustainability. Furthermore, natural gas prices are expected to stay stable for the next decade or more. While natural gas is, admittedly, a fossil fuel, it burns much cleaner than oil and coal, and has less environmental impact. Over the next generation, natural gas will serve as the essential “bridge fuel” that will help America transition from fossil fuels to renewables. For institutions that are concerned about sustainability, natural gas can provide a “greener” alternative to oil and coal as renewable technologies are perfected and the necessary infrastructure created.
Natural gas costs are significantly lower than for other fuel sources—as little as 1/6th of the cost of oil (on a wholesale pricing basis), for instance. The financial implications for colleges and universities can’t be overstated. The cost savings offered by natural gas are so significant that independent energy districts that operate on natural gas have potential payback periods as low as a few years.
Natural gas also offers flexibility because it is available in several forms. The most common, of course, is pipeline gas. For campuses with direct access to local gas distribution systems, pipeline natural gas can be the perfect fuel choice for an independent energy district. The gas is drawn directly from those pipelines, which are typically provided by local utilities, and used to meet the thermal loads and produce the power that’s needed.
No Pipes? No Problem.
For campuses that don’t have convenient access to pipelines, there are two alternatives, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG), which can offer effective “portable pipeline” options. In essence, they permit colleges and universities to create their own pipelines.
LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit. This condenses the gas into a liquid, allowing it to take up to 600 times less space than it does in its gaseous state and making it more practical to transport over long distances. Also, when natural gas is liquefied, most of the common impurities—sulfur, carbon dioxide, mercury, and heavier hydrocarbons—are removed, which makes LNG a very clean and reliable fuel for cooling, heating, and power generation.
Utilizing LNG as a primary fuel source requires specific infrastructure, including insulated storage tanks, vaporization systems to convert the LNG back into a gas so it can be burned, and off-load pumps to transfer the LNG transport contents to storage tanks. Service pipes also are required to convey the vaporized LNG from storage to the end-use equipment. Also, because the liquefaction process removes the odorant present in the pipeline gas, an odorant injection system must also be installed downstream of the heaters and pipelines to make it possible to detect any natural gas leaks.
Another potentially useful fuel source for independent energy districts is CNG. CNG is highly compressed natural gas that is produced by compressing natural gas to approximately 3,600 pounds per square inch, which permits it to be stored and transported in container trucks. CNG can be purchased from independent suppliers or gas utilities, which deliver the gas in special tube trailers.
Like LNG, CNG facilities require their own infrastructure. A “mother” station (or compressor station) must be located where the CNG tube trailers can be loaded, and is managed by the CNG supplier. Additionally, a decompression—or “daughter”—station provides tube trailer off-load bays equipped with heaters to warm gas during the de-pressurization from 3,600 psig to the customer’s desired working pressure (typically around 50 to 100 psig). The off-load system is customized equipment that is also provided by the CNG supplier. Finally, a piping system is required. The piping system connects the daughter station to the rest of the apparatus, and distributes the natural gas that is used throughout the Independent Energy District’s network.
LNG and CNG facilities can each be attractive options for colleges and universities. This is particularly true of institutions with sufficient land to accommodate the infrastructure required of independent energy districts and store sufficient quantities of the fuel that’s going to be burned.
Ultimately, schools that take control of their energy needs by developing and operating independent energy districts can assure uninterrupted access to the fuel they need to operate their campuses. And because these facilities provide so much flexibility in terms of the fuel they can burn, independent energy districts can save colleges and universities millions of dollars ever year in operating costs.
While it’s true that the creation of the infrastructure required can necessitate a significant up-front capital expenditure, those costs can be recouped very quickly—in as little as a couple of years. Since independent energy districts are designed to operate for many years, they can deliver significant cost savings to colleges and universities for an extended period.
Mike Nicoloro is senior vice president and Joan Fontaine is vice president at Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc. in Concord. Together, they manage Sanborn Head’s Energy division. Mike Nicoloro can be reached at [email protected] and Joan Fontaine can be reached at [email protected].
