Vanderbilt Power Plant Conversion Highlighted in AASHE 2013 Higher Education Sustainability Review
The Vanderbilt power plant’s natural gas conversion was highlighted as a high-impact energy initiative in the 2013 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)’s Higher Education Sustainability Review, released April 15, 2014. Vanderbilt was profiled by AASHE because of the announcement in spring 2013 that the University planned to convert the coal-fueled components of its co-generation facility to burn only natural gas, in order to meet the power needs of the University and the Medical Center in a more environmentally-sustainable way.
The conversion from coal to all natural gas, which began in fall 2013, is expected to take about two years and includes the installation of two natural gas-fired boilers and one natural gas-combustion turbine, which will co-generate steam and electricity. All of the coal infrastructure will be removed, including the three-story bag house, which serves as a filtering system, and the smoke stack, coal hoppers and coal silo. For more information about Vanderbilt’s power plant conversion, including FAQs, click here.
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