Ohio University is inching closer to a deadline requiring it to find a more environmentally safe way to heat university buildings.
At Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting on OU’s Lancaster campus, the Resources Committee will hear a presentation from a task force assigned to provide a replacement for the almost-50-year-old Lausche Heating Plant.
The task force is headed by Mike Gebeke, executive director of Facilities Management, and was created in 2011. Members of the task force will propose a new plant that would produce both steam and electricity for the university using natural gas.
The plant would have a carbon reduction of about 89,000 metric tons compared with Lausche’s 2010 levels and ensure on-site power generation in the event of a utility outage, according to a letter to the trustees from Stephen Golding, OU’s vice president for Finance and Administration.
Because of the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, a national effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants in the United States, university officials committed to avoid using coal in its new heating plant.
“I think it’s a good step forward for the university, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop advocating,” said Camille Scott, a sophomore studying anthropology and president of the OU Sierra Student Coalition. “I hope it is just the first of more steps to come.”
The task force expects a switch from coal to natural gas to cost about $91 million and anticipates that its plan would save OU about $3 million in fuel costs each year.
Athens City Planner Paul Logue has acted as a liaison for the city of Athens, voicing residents’ concerns about the existing plant and working with the task force to make sure the plan follows city codes.
Logue said he believes the switch from the Lausche Heating Plant will positively affect the city.
“Eliminating coal is big,” he said. “Coal has been a concern for many because of the environmental impacts with clean air.”
The plan is part of OU’s $977.5 million six-year improvement capital plan, which focuses on replacing old equipment and renovating old facilities. The replacement of the Lausche Heating Plant is expected to be the most costly part of the plan.
“Being a member of the community and watching and being involved, I can see the university is committed to moving in a positive direction and is moving in the right way,” Logue said.
Annie Laurie Cadmus, OU’s director of sustainability, declined to comment because she was preparing for Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
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