Becoming DEEP Green with Just One Project: Cogen  Tom Davies – Director Design & Construction, Amherst College  Todd Holland – Energy Manager, Amherst, Mount Holyoke & Smith Colleges

The Bottom Line(s)  Reasonable pay-back  Huge CO2 reduction  Fuel flexibility and standby power  But Large first cost

Why Go Green? Many flavors of climate commitment:  Kyoto Protocol  Clean Air/Cool Planet a.k.a. The New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers’ Climate Change Action Plan  Step It Up  Presidents Climate Commitment a.k.a. American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment

Greenhouse gas audit

Greenhouse gas model

Flavors of climate commitment

Many ways to go green – How do they compare?  Purchasing REC’s  Building improvements  Operational changes  Behavioral changes  Cogeneration

Offsets, Programs, and Projects

Offsets, vs. Projects and Cogen

Cogen by the numbers of GHG emissions from fuel for heat and purchased electricity

Cogen by the numbers of the energy we buy is electricity of our GHG emissions are from electricity

Where does electricity come from?

Cogen by the numbers of the energy used to generate electricity is wasted as heat

Cogen by the numbers efficiency of the nation’s electric grid overall efficiency of a small cogen system

Comparison of conventional systems vs. Cogen  CO2 reduction 7000 tons, 23%  NOx (smog) reduction 27 tons, 60%  SOx (acid rain) reduction 93 tons, 62%

OK, you convinced me. So what is this Cogen?  Gas turbine, recip engine, steam turbine  Types of plants where this it works  What’s new: available to smaller campuses

Cogen explained:

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (Eff. = 95%) STEAM TURBINE (Eff. = 42%) BOILER (Efficiency = 83%) CONDENSER 72 Units 22 Units 25 Units 23 Units High Pressure Steam 60 Units 72 Fuel Source units yields:  22 Units of Electricity GENERATOR (Eff. = 92%) 35 Units Electric Efficiency: 30% Conventional Power Plant:

73 Fuel Source units yields:  58 Units of Thermal Energy 73 Units Heat to Campus 58 Units BOILER (Efficiency = 80%) Thermal Efficiency: 80% Conventional Heating Plant:

73 Units Heat to Campus 58 Units BOILER (Efficiency = 80%) Overall Efficiency: 55% 145 Fuel Source units yields:  22 Units of Electricity  58 Units of Thermal Energy DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (Eff. = 95%) STEAM TURBINE (Eff. = 42%) BOILER (Efficiency = 83%) CONDENSER 72 Units 22 Units 25 Units 23 Units High Pressure Steam 60 Units GENERATOR (Eff. = 92%) Conventional Heat & Power:

100 Fuel Source units yields:  22 units electricity  58 units thermal energy Cogen = Combined Heat & Power: 58 Units Overall Efficiency: 80% GENERATOR (Eff. = 92%) 100 Units 24 Units 22 Units GAS TURBINE (Efficiency = 24%) HEAT RECOVERY STEAM GENERATOR Steam to Campus 76 Units

Cogen explained:

Cogen configuration  Fuel cost and availability: natural gas, diesel, or both  Year-round or seasonal operation  Are you thermally or electrically rich?  Steam and/or hot water for heat  Summertime heat load  Rate structure

The Cogen Solution at Amherst  Solar Saturn dual-fuel gas turbine and HRSG with duct burner  Back-pressure steam turbine  Total capacity 1250 and 500 kW

Cogen by numbers: Payback and other cost factors  Initial cost  Operational savings  Simple payback estimates  Volatility in energy costs and what that means for payback  Rising energy prices = good news!

Amherst Cogen First Costs  Construction5,200,000  Equipment3,500,000  Soft Costs 600,000  Total Cost9,300,000

Payback Calculations  This will be done live off a spreadsheet based on current gas, oil and electricity costs, and the audiences predictions of future gas, oil and electricity costs.

Fuel NG#2#6kWhAnnual $/mcfgal Svgs 1$8.10$3.29$3.50$0.14$912,941 2$8.00$3.50 $0.15$936,592 3$9.00$3.50 $0.15$901,706 4$10.00$3.50 $0.15$866,821 5$8.00$3.50 $0.16$1,058,543 6$9.00$3.50 $0.16$1,023,657 7$10.00$3.50 $0.16$988,772 8$8.00$3.50 $0.17$1,180,494 9$9.00$3.50 $0.17$1,145,609 10$10.00$3.50 $0.17$1,110,723 11$11.00$3.50 $0.17$1,075,837

Other benefits:  Stand-by power capabilities  Island mode operation  Demand reduction = payments from utility  Diversification of boiler equipment  Reduced reliance on #6 fuel oil

Too good to be true?  Equipment availability  The reality of a seller’s market  Schedule volatility  Pricing volatility and change orders  It’s complex, so build a great team

Evolution of costs & savings

Grid Operator Alphabet Soup  ISO  RMR  FCM1  FCM2  ODR  Translation = $67,000 a year

Cogen Team  In-house: D&C, Engineering, Ops, Energy, Administration, Trustees  Consultants: Engineers, Commissioning Agent, Testing, Permitting, Procurement  Vendor: Prime Mover(s) & Subs  Contractor: Builders, Commissioners Become DEEP Green with Just One Project: Cogen

The Bottom Line(s)  Reasonable pay-back  Fuel flexibility and standby power  Huge CO2 reduction

Resources CHP Application Centers        

Discussion Contact info:  Tom –  Todd –