New Nevada Campus Powered By Geothermal Plant
Reno, Nevada will soon have the only college campus in the world powered entirely by geothermal energy.
A new 30 year agreement between Advanced Thermal Systems, Inc. of Reno and the University of Nevada, Reno will bring geothermal technology to provide heat and power for the collaborative new Redfield Campus and provide a new source of clean, affordable power for northern Nevada. Under the agreement, Advanced Thermal Systems (ATS) will build and operate an 11 kilowatt Kalina Cycle geothermal power plant adjacent to the new campus. The plant will provide electricity, hot and chilled water. It will also supply hot water to support university research in areas such as hydroponics and aquaculture.
ATS hopes to sell the excess electricity generated to the Sierra Pacific electric utility to help meet growing regional energy needs. There are currently 13 power plants operating at nine geothermal sites in Nevada, making the state second only to California in installed geothermal capacity.
“We will be meeting the heating, cooling and electrical power needs of the Redfield Campus and, at the same time, shaping another valuable laboratory for our Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy, which is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s top centers for education and research on geothermal resources,” said John Lilley, university president.
“This will be a complete system for powering, heating and cooling the Redfield Campus facilities, all of it connected to the geothermal resources underground,” said Shuman Moore, president of ATS. “It will be a model not only for universities, but also for other commercial and industrial facilities that want to take advantage of the abundant geothermal resource in Nevada and around the West.”
Scheduled to open in 2004, the Redfield Campus is a cooperative venture involving the university and nearby Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno, and Western Nevada Community College, Carson City.
As part of the new agreement, Advanced Thermal Systems will construct an 800 square foot state of the art classroom at its new facility for educational use by the university.
Other terms specify that campus energy costs will be set at $210,000 per year with annual increases limited to one percent. After 10 years, the university system will have an opportunity to purchase the project.
Provided by theEnvironmental News Service.