University of Massachusetts - 16 MW CHP Plant - Case Study
Quick Facts
LOCATION: Amherst, Massachusetts
FUEL: Natural Gas and Oil
MAX CAPACITY: 16 MW
POLLUTION CONTROL: Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS:
99.3% SOx Reduction, 93% NOx Reduction, 96% CO Reduction
AVERAGE CAPACITY FACTOR: ~ 75%
ENERGY OUTPUT: 100,000 MWh per year
IN OPERATION SINCE: April 2009
EQUIPMENT: 10 MW Solar Gas Turbine; 4 MW and 2 MW Steam Turbines
USE OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY: Displaces campus loads previously supplied by the local utility
Site Description
The new UMASS Central Heating Plant is housed in a 45,000 square foot building. Its power systems include a 10 MW Solar combustion gas turbine, 4 MW and 2 MW steam turbines, a heat recovery steam generator, three package boilers and various auxiliary equipment. A 100,000 lb/hr Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) uses the exhaust heat from the gas turbine to produce steam for campus heating and cooling year-round. Three package boilers, each rated up to 125,000 pounds per hour steam, provide additional steam capacity to meet campus demand in the spring, fall, and winter months. Two 20-inch main steam transmission lines connect the new plant to the campus. When the gas turbine is generating power at its full 10 MW capacity, the HRSG is capable of producing 37,000 lb/hr without any additional firing. Additional duct burners increase the capacity to the full 100,000 lbs/hr rating.
Reasons for Installing CHP
The old coal fired central heating plant, built in the early 1900’s and expanded over the years, could no longer obtain operating permits from the state due to emissions issues. The only fuel that could get an operating permit in the state was now natural gas. This meant a new natural gas fired central heating plant was going to have to be built. Faced with the prospect of transitioning from a relatively inexpensive fuel (coal) to a more expensive fuel (natural gas) the University decided it would be best to get the maximum value from this new fuel and the way to do that was through a combustion turbine based CHP system.
During 2010, UMASS is expected to require ~1,100,000,000 pounds of steam and 100,000,000 kWh of electric power to supply its over 200 buildings and nearly 10 million gross square feet of building space. The new central heating plant will satisfy the entire campus steam demand and almost the entire electric demand. Additionally, the plant will conserve 65 million gallons of clean drinking water each year by using approximately 200,000 gallons of treated grey water daily from the Amherst wastewater treatment plant, rather than clean drinking water, to replace water lost in steam distribution and use. The Central Heating Plant uses the latest pollution control technologies including an advanced combustion turbine, low NOx burners and advanced Selective Catalytic Reduction and Oxidation Catalyst pollution control technologies. This advanced pollution control, combined with the switch from coal to natural gas, allowed the University to reduce its output of Sox from 307 tons/yr to 2 tons/yr, NOx from 143 tons/yr to 10 tons/yr and Carbon Monoxide from 45 tons/yr to 2 tons/yr. this equals and approximately 97% pollution reduction when taken as a whole
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