Cornell University will be able to halve its use of coal power generation when a new natural-gas combined heat and power plant officially enters operation Jan. 15, according to news reports.
The 30-megawatt addition is part of the university's bid to become coal-free as early as the summer of 2011, reports the Ithaca Journal.
In addition to generating electricity, the CHP plant will help heat university facilities.
When it becomes fully operational, the plant should help reduce the university's carbon footprint by 30 percent, reports WBNG.
Cornell has a long-range goal to become net-zero carbon by 2050 through a combination of energy conservation, alternative energy sources and carbon offsets.
Also in New York, Syracuse University is using an innovative cogeneration system to lessen its heating and cooling needs.
At a new green data center at Syracuse, an on-site electrical co-generation system fueled by natural gas microturbine engines generates 100 percent of the center’s electricity while helping cool a couple of buildings.
The liquid cooling system uses double-effect absorption chillers to convert exhaust heat from the microturbines into chilled water to cool the data center’s servers, with sufficient excess cooling to handle the needs of an adjacent building.
