After 40 years of serving the heating and cooling needs of the main campus the time has arrived for the Central Heating and Cooling Plant to be expanded and upgraded.  Following studies that have examined economics, sustainability and environmental aspects the decision has been made to install a cogeneration system, sometimes known as combined heat and power.

The new installation will centre around a natural gas fuelled power generation system that will produce approximately 12MW of electric power.  The hot exhaust gases from the generation system will be channelled through a waste heat recovery unit that will produce the high temperature hot water that is used to heat the campus.  This mature technology is significantly more efficient than the conventional approach of importing power from the utility company and using natural gas solely for heating (overall efficiency of ~75% as opposed to ~49% for the traditional approach).  In addition, this project aligns with the University’s Energy Management Plan that when complete will see the greenhouse gas footprint of the University reduced to the 1990 level despite a significant increase in building floor area.

The aspects of this project that will be visible are primarily an extension to the north end of the Central Heating and Cooling Plant.  This extension will house the turbine generator, waste heat recovery boiler and some ancillary equipment.  A new 20m exhaust stack will be installed to the west end of this new construction & will be dedicated to the new equipment.

The project team is hosting a public information session on Tuesday Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Red & White Club at McMahon Stadium.  All are welcome.  The presentation will include an overview of the project and presentation of results from a Noise Impact Assessment and an Air Dispersion Study.