Rising energy prices are spurring university and college administrators to take steps to cut costs, ensure adequate power, and implement energy-saving initiatives in an increasingly technological-dependent campus environment.
These issues have recently become more relevant due to the impact of rising energy costs, coupled with such major events as the California energy crisis of 2000 and the Northeast blackout of 2003. Moreover, since oil and gas supplies--and prices--appear to be in a roller coaster mode due to unstable Middle East conditions and, in general, more global energy consumption, IHEs need to examine their power infrastructure to ensure a steady flow of power at a reasonable cost.
The upside is that IHEs can recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, by implementing a comprehensive energy management plan. In order to realize such savings, however, both energy production and consumption must be addressed.
Power 101
Power is provided to a campus either through an external grid, such as a local utility, or an internal grid by generating electricity onsite. Institutions with important scientific or medical facilities likely already have some type of backup power available. The California energy crisis of 2000, the blackout of 2003, and other recent events reinforce the need for colleges and universities to consider upgrading their power generating capabilities from backup supplies for certain buildings to a dedicated power plant capable of providing part or all of on-campus power requirements.
Even with its own power plant, a college or university may sometimes need to draw from the external grid to supplement its own needs. The rate structure under which the university purchases power from the local utility determines that cost. Under some rate structures there may be times when temporarily drawing power from the external grid is more cost efficient. Having the ability to switch from campus-supplied power to the external grid allows a university to maximize its savings potential rather than be locked into the rate structure of the local energy provider.
Some universities have the resources to own and operate their own power plants, while for others this is not always a necessary or realistic option. Consider the differences in how Princeton University (NJ), Texas Tech University, and the University of Florida at Gainesville provide for their own power requirements.
Princeton University has a daytime population of approximately 10,000 people: half students and the remainder a combination of researchers, faculty, and staff. The university has been providing power since 1996 to its 500-acre campus with one General Electric (GE) LM1600 gas turbine (www.ge.com/en). The turbine's technology, which is based on the jet engine that powers the F18 fighter aircraft, produces 70 to 85 percent of the electric power required by the campus all year. The LM1600 is designed so that in addition to the power produced by running the turbine, the hot air of the exhaust is harnessed to produce steam in a process called cogeneration (cogen). On moderate days, just one LM1600 online is sufficient to provide heat and power for the campus. The energy plant manager for Princeton, Ted Borer, estimates that the university roughly saves about $3 million a year by producing its own power through cogeneration.
Texas Tech University, located on 1,839 acres in Lubbock, does not own or operate a power plant; instead, local energy provider Lubbock Power and Light (LP&L) (www.lpandl.com) supplies its energy needs. Usually, the facility providing that energy is LP&L's Brandon Station, located near the Texas Tech campus, which is powered by GE's 21 MW LM2500 gas turbine. When in operation, the turbine's output is roughly equal to the university's demand, according to David Goode, interim production superintendent for LP&L at Brandon Station.
Rising gas prices, however, resulted in LP&L temporarily reducing operations at Brandon Station for several months in 2003 and 2004, during which time the company drew power from other sources to supply Texas Tech. The ability to switch power sources depending on economic conditions provides the opportunity to take advantage of the lowest price available in the marketplace.
