A Smaller Carbon Footprint
Rider University completed construction on a power plant in 2014 that generates about a quarter of the Lawrenceville campus's electricity, saving more than $500,000 in annual utility costs while reducing the University’s carbon footprint. Located next to the Gill Chapel on the Lawrenceville campus, the Trigeneration System generates electricity to heat and cool four of the University’s academic buildings. The plant harnesses 1.1 megawatts of electricity from natural gas to power about a quarter of the energy used on campus.
The system uses natural gas to generate electricity as well as steam and chilled water. You may be more familiar with the idea of cogeneration, or “cogen”. These plants use natural gas to generate electricity and steam. Our plant saves the university money, since it reduces the amount of electricity we must purchase from the grid and uses energy that is usually wasted to heat and chill water for use in the academic buildings across campus. The greenhouse gas emissions from the plant are below that generated on our behalf off campus per unit of energy and will result in significantly reduced sulfur emissions. The plant will provide object lessons in energy and sustainability for students in Physics, Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies.
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