University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon - 10.9 MW Gas and Steam Turbine CHP - Case Study
Quick Facts
LOCATION: Eugene, Oregon
MARKET SECTOR: University
FACILITY SIZE: 23,634 Students
FACILITY Total Electrical Energy Use: About 70 million kWh/year
EQUIPMENT: 7,965 kW Solar Taurus gas turbine plus 3,000 kW steam turbine
FUEL: Natural gas
USE OF THERMAL ENERGY: Space, domestic hot water, sterilization, cooking, cage cleaning
CHP TOTAL EFFICIENCY: 77.3% at full-fire
TOTAL PROJECT COST: $15 million to $18 million
CHP IN OPERATION SINCE: 2011
Site Description
The University of Oregon, established in 1876, now has an enrollment of 23,600 students and employs over 4,000 teaching and research faculty. Heating and cooling needs are provided with a centralized power plant that serves 80 buildings and 4.4 million square feet of space on a 295 acre campus. Steam is distributed to end use points at 60 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) through over four miles of steam tunnels.
Reasons for CHP
The original University of Oregon district heating system and central power plant were built in 1921. The power plant was relocated and capacity expanded in 1948 when World War II veterans were released from military duty and returned to school. In 2011, the central power station was modernized to meet expected load growth, improve efficiency, and increase electrical reliability. In particular, adding the ability for the university power system to operate independently in “island mode,” supporting critical loads, added resiliency for the campus. This justified more complex interconnections with the grid. One old boiler was upgraded, a new boiler was purchased and a CHP project with a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) was installed within the old power station footprint. Thermal discharges to the river from condenser cooling were eliminated with the installation of a new air cooling tower system.
The CHP project consists of a dual fuel (natural gas and No. 2 oil) 7,965 kW (ISO) Solar Turbines Taurus 70 and a 3 MW backpressure Dresser-Rand steam turbine. The generating units were included as part of a $110 million central steam plant expansion project that included a new 15,000 ton chilled water plant, three 2.25 MW standby diesel generators, a new switchyard, and a central control system. When cold combustion air is available in the winter, the gas turbine output increases to about 8.2 MW. No gas compression is necessary as the gas turbine can directly use gas from a 400-psig interstate transmission pipeline. Costs for the CHP portion of the central steam plant upgrade project were not broken out but are estimated at about $15 million to $18 million.
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