A $2 million grant through Pennsylvania's Alternative and Clean Energy (ACE) program will help Duquesne University upgrade its Energy Center, which generates the bulk of electricity for campus with a natural gas turbine generator.
The ACE-funded project is anticipated to save 18,256 million cubic feet of natural gas annually and provide $82,154 in annual cost savings.
Duquesne has operated a combined heat and power (cogeneration) facility since 1997 that generates electricity and uses the waste heat from the process to heat and cool campus buildings. Annually, the natural gas-fired power plant produces about 75 percent of the power used for electricity and nearly 100 percent of the heating and cooling of the University's facilities. It is Pennsylvania's first approved generation system for creating Alternative Energy Credits. Duquesne purchases the remainder of its energy needs from renewable sources.
The ACE grant will enable Duquesne University to:
