Campus Sustainability
Converting the plant on East Campus to natural gas isn’t the steam plant’s only sustainable feature, however. In hopes of earning LEED Gold from the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council, Duke University reused 87 percent of the original building and made use of recycled water, including rainwater from the new roof, to operate the plant’s toilet.
“The reuse of this existing building and its recommissioning as a steam plant represents a major commitment to sustainability,” explains John Noonan, vice president for Duke University’s Facilities Management.
“When we first started the renovation process, we hoped for a Gold rating but didn’t know what to expect,” Williams notes. “Typically, LEED doesn’t work well with certain types of buildings, like a steam plant, so earning the rating is pretty exciting.”
The plant ultimately received a LEED Gold rating in 2011. It garnered 40 of a possible 69 points. The plant performed best (12 of 15 points) in the “Indoor Environmental Quality” section, which awards points for overall air and temperature quality and natural daylighting. “We used high-grade filters to increase air quality, and the steam plant’s control room features a 2-story arched window with a vaulted ceiling— thanks to the sloped coal bunker above. We get so much sunlight you sometimes can’t see the computer’s monitor; we had to install some shades,” Williams adds.
In addition to its LEED certification, the steam plant has received 14 other awards for sustainability, design, historic preservation and reconstruction from a variety of organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, Washington; the Society for College and University Planning, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Preservation Durham, N.C.; the Triangle Business Journal; and Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., Washington.
Next Steps
The next step for Duke University to meet its goal of mitigating the use of coal is the complete conversion and renovation of the West Campus Steam Plant. This project is currently underway and is slated to be complete by May 2013. Converting the West plant is more difficult than the East plant’s renovation because the university must keep the West plant running during the retrofit. However, East Campus Steam Plant’s added capacity has provided the flexibility to allow the West plant’s conversion to be accomplished without a significant customer impact.
The two plants together virtually serve the entire Duke University campus, which consists of approximately 13.4 million gross square feet of buildings on 1,200 acres connected by 32 miles of steam pipe. Together the two newly renovated plants provide a total capacity of 540,000 pounds per hour of steam, enough for current and future building needs through 2024.
The renovations and conversions of the East and West Campus Steam Plants have allowed Duke University to take a significant step toward its goal of becoming climate neutral by 2024, the university’s centennial year. Avoiding the use of coal at Duke University has reduced greenhouse-gas emissions tied to steam by 40 percent, which has helped reduce the university’s overall emissions by 15 percent. “With this conversion, Duke was able to cut its coal consumption by approximately 70 percent,” Noonan adds.
About this Article
This article includes information from a piece by Leanora Minai, editor of Working@Duke, the award-winning publication for Duke University staff and faculty.
Natural gas-fired boilers:
Miura, www.miuraboiler.com