Monday, 8/25/97 University's source of power hides right under our noses ENERGY: Cogeneration plant model of efficiency, reduced pollutant output
By Cindy Choi Daily Bruin Contributor The 450-foot facade - fashioned with scaled panels, a two-toned brick motif of blue and red, irregular metal screens, soaring steam stacks, and exposed piping - is the fitting exterior of a powerful industrial facility. UCLA's power plant, however, proudly defies the stereotypes of being loud, polluting and unsightly. "Generally people have a horrible concept of what a power plant is," said Nicholetta Freeman, assistant to the director of the Energy Systems Facility. "Our plant is in an urban setting that has thousands of people walking by it. They don't even know we're here. We are here to silently serve and support the university." Operating since January 1994, the Energy Systems Facility is the university's sole source of steam and chilled water and the supplier of 90 to 95 percent of UCLA's electricity. A cost-effective facility, incorporating efficient engineering and meeting strict environmental standards, the plant was the answer to the growing problem of UCLA's old, fuel-hungry utility plant. "We were driven primarily by a need to offer reliable air conditioning and heating service to the campus, couple that with electric cogeneration, to provide an efficient process that would pay for itself," said David Johnson, director of energy services/utility. Without adequate funds to replace or repair the inefficient central boiler and dozens of unreliable air-conditioning chillers, in 1987 the university decided to create a central cogeneration/chiller plant. A self-sufficient system providing steam, chilled water and electricity would cut costs while reducing air pollution. Cogeneration is a highly efficient means of generating electricity and thermal energy from a single energy source. A typical power plant generates electricity by burning fuel, and the heat resulting from that process is wasted and released to the environment. But the cogeneration process captures the waste heat to make steam. Moreover, UCLA's Energy System Facility added a central chilled water facility to harness the steam to produce chilled water. Miles of underground pipes distribute the steam and chilled water and return the water back to the facility to repeat the cycle. Instead of paying the annual $20-million-plus electricity bill to the Department of Water and Power, the tremendous savings from generating electricity efficiently at the cogeneration/chiller plant financed the $188-million project without impacting the state budget or student fees. In building the plant, UCLA avoided $40 million in repairs and purchases to upgrade the existing energy service stations. "We financed the project out of the savings obtained from the efficiency of its operation. It has been an economic advantage to all of us," explained Johnson. Besides the economics of this engineering feat, the plant meets stringent environmental standards and, in some cases, sets the standards themselves. "Definitely as a university we felt an overriding responsibility to build a facility that was not only economical, but committed to the environment and to society," said Doug Hisey, the facility's manager. "The design and engineering abided by the 'watchword' ideals of the project: clean, efficient and reliable," continued Hisey. The self-imposed restrictions of lower and cleaner emissions have cut the airborne contaminates by the campus in half. The plant eliminated the campus use of CFCs (a chemical compound that damages the ozone layer) by 20,000 pounds, a 90 percent decrease, by retiring over 30 individual air-conditioning chillers. Whereas the old plant emitted nearly 40 parts per million of nitrous oxide, a high yet "legal" amount, the new facility lowered its emissions to six parts per million, while burning twice the volume of fuel. Achieving the benchmark six parts per million emission limitation established a new standard for facilities of similar size and type in Southern California, said Johnson. Moreover, the facility burns landfill gas in conjunction with natural gas. Piped underground from the local Mountain Gate community, one of Los Angeles' oldest dumps located six miles away, this methane gas offers numerous benefits as a fuel source. The gas burns cleanly, passing through a sophisticated emission control system at the facility. Landfill gas is also an untapped energy source which would otherwise be flared as waste at the landfill. In addition, burning the gas at UCLA lowers the emissions from the landfill, continued Johnson. The facility has also installed a system to collect 80,000 gallons per day of clean used water from the hospital and other south campus buildings, said Hisey. Water that would otherwise go down the drain is reused in the plant's operations. "The technology in this facility is very basic. The combination of things that we do and the way that we operate this facility gives it uniqueness," Johnson stressed. The use of landfill gas and gray water, practices which have gained national attention, are some of the plant's notable innovations. "We have tried to be a very influential entity. We share our information and technology," said Johnson. For example, the facility offers tours of the site and shares knowledge with other universities, utility companies, foreign nations and organizations interested in cogeneration. Two undergraduate mechanical engineering courses on power plants have taken the initial step toward realizing the full educational potential of the Energy Systems Facility. "It is a fantastic educational tool," said Stanley Jones, a doctoral candidate whose research team is working to optimize the plant's operation. "Here is an opportunity for students to have hands-on experience on one of the latest and greatest cogeneration facilities in the world," continued Jones. Most recently, the plant has won the International District Energy Association's System-of-the-Year Award as an exemplary utility system that is "reliable and efficient," said Tanya Kozel, program director of IDEA, an organization for the promotion and the exchange of knowledge of efficient and environmentally friendly utility. Putting aside sound business and environmental methods, the main goal of the facility is to serve the campus, said Johnson. "The facility is not intended to be run purely from an economic standpoint. Providing air conditioning, not only for comfort but for research, is far more important than moment-to-moment concerns about the cost of operation," Johnson continued. The plant is managed by UCLA for the benefit of the campus community. The plant's invisibility confirms another level of excellence. The design by Wes Jones of Holt Hinshaw Pfau Jones has won recognition in the artistic arena. "The architects did something right. It makes its own statement but blends in well," said Johnson. Previous Daily Bruin Story Worthwhile or worth money?