UNBC First To Be Heated With Renewable Energy

Friday, July 18, 2008 02:29 PM

UNBC Power Plant (photo courtesy UNBC)

Prince George, B.C. – UNBC received $3.5 million from the Government’s Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) fund as a showpiece for bioenergy and a research and teaching hub on renewable energy options.

The funding is the largest investment among the 15 projects announced today at UNBC by Ida Chong, Minister of Technology, Trade, and Economic Development, and Richard Neufeld, Minister of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources and will make UNBC the first university in Canada to be heated largely with renewable energy.

The proposed UNBC project is intended to focus on testing the economic, environmental, operational, and industrial viability of bioenergy and biomass fuels such as wood. The University is currently exploring the potential of gasification technology, which converts biomass to heat and a synthetic gas. The system would be added to the UNBC Power Plant and supplement the University’s existing boilers, which currently burn natural gas.

The University’s campus infrastructure is key to implementing a renewable energy system. The diagram at the above indicates all of the core campus buildings located within the University Ring Road are connected to the Power Plant by the Agora and a utility corridor. This is an efficient infrastructure that also makes the campus ready for implementing new energy systems.

In the early 1990s when the campus was being built, the Power Plant was designed for expansion and to accommodate alternative energy systems. A bioenergy installation, for example, could be attached to the Power Plant and immediately connect to the hot water pipes already serving the campus.

A bioenergy system could then provide base heating for the entire year, and be supplemented by the existing boilers during periods of peak loads and very cold temperatures.

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Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 02:29 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: owl on July 18 2008 4:16 PM

It appears the residences, day care and the greenhouse are not connected to the Central plant.

Posted by: lunarbase on July 18 2008 5:24 PM

The Northern Sports Centre isn't either. The majority of the campus though is fed from the Power Plant.

Posted by: HappyGoLucky on July 18 2008 5:35 PM

It will be interesting to see if this project goes over budget like many others of recent and hopefully the expansion matches the older buildings and not the T&L building... That will be one big wood oven;)

Posted by: owl on July 19 2008 8:32 PM

Wood oven???? .... maybe they will open a pizza joint attached to it?

Posted by: metalman on July 21 2008 8:58 AM

Oh how very politically correct of the uni.
What else would you expect?
metalman.