Feature
Story
Is Wind Energy Hot Air?
The University of Texas at Austin
checks it out
Ryan Reid, Assistant Manager, Plant Engineering, Department of Utilities and Energy Management,
University of Texas at Austin; Ryan Thompson, PE, Project Manager, Department of Utilities and Energy
Management, University of Texas at Austin
Combined heat and power is getting
more attention than it used to. But
it still just doesn’t compare to that
received by wind energy, which even has
T. Boone Pickens rallying support. But what
about combining these ‘up-and-comers’ –
CHP and wind energy? What would that
do for energy efficiency? The University
of Texas asked this very question and
conducted a detailed analysis of what
purchasing wind energy might mean for
its CHP-based Austin campus energy
system. The results might surprise you.
Efficiency Always a Priority
The University of Texas (UT) at Austin
campus has experienced rapid growth
over the past decade, expanding usable
square footage at the main campus by 13
percent, which has meant a simultaneous
increase in heating and cooling demands.
In addition, growing high-technology
requirements have raised electrical
demands nearly 25 percent. In spite of
these mounting demands, the amount of
natural gas burned annually by UT’s CHP
plant has remained constant.
That has been possible because continual efficiency gains at the plant have
offset increased demand. Operating a CHP
plant that generates electricity, heating and
cooling allows for higher efficiencies than
could ever be accomplished through pur-
chased grid energy. Dramatic savings – in
fuel and operating costs and environmental
impact – have been realized by these
efficiency gains.
Continual efficiency gains at
the plant have offset increased
campus energy demand.
Emissions have always been an area
of concern for fossil fuel power plants,
most recently with a growing awareness
of a facility’s carbon footprint. Over the
past 10 years, the UT power plant has
generated a total 3 million tons of carbon
dioxide, averaging about 266,000 tons per
year. However, the efficiency gains have
conversely prevented the cumulative
release of 388,000 tons of carbon dioxide
(CO2) since 1996. The efficiency gains have
allowed the campus to continue growing
in size and energy consumption without
emitting any additional CO2, effectively
classifying all campus growth as carbon-neutral.
As part of its ongoing commitment
to higher efficiencies, cost-effective operations and environmental stewardship, UT
plans to install a new gas turbine that is
scheduled to come online in 2010. This will
further reduce the natural gas demands
despite campus growth.
Evaluating wind energy’s potential to
further reduce carbon emissions has also
become a priority.
What Does Wind Mean?
Combined heat and power facilities
are among the most efficient ways to generate usable energy from fossil fuels. Unfortunately, reliance on natural gas is subject
to increasing prices and the continued
release of emissions, the downfalls of using
any nonrenewable resource. Austin Energy,
the community-owned public electric utility,
has a growing commitment to renewable
resources, with the goal of obtaining 20
percent of electrical capacity from renewable sources by 2020. Through wind energy
contracts in West Texas, Austin Energy
has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy as the leading electric
utility in renewable energy sales the past
two years.
The University of Texas is in a position
to utilize its tie-in with Austin Energy to
directly purchase wind energy for use on
campus through Austin Energy’s Green-Choice® program. (See sidebar.) For
example, the university could purchase
5 MW of wind energy, which would continuously offset the UT power plant’s
electrical generation. On average, this
