Friday, November 19, 2010

UNC, Orange County launch joint landfill methane gas project

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Orange County will start the first phase of their joint project to convert methane gas from the county landfill into electricity.

“The landfill gas project is a very important part of UNC’s near-term strategies for carbon reduction,” Chancellor Holden Thorp said. “In collaboration with Orange County, this project will enable UNC to use a locally available fuel which would otherwise be wasted.” 

With this project, methane gas from the Orange County landfill that is currently being released into the atmosphere – and contributing to global warming – will be captured and converted into electrical energy. The University will gain carbon credits for reducing pollution, which will help the campus honor the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment to be climate neutral by 2050. The project is one strategy in the 2009 Climate Action Plan to reduce UNC’s carbon footprint to zero by 2050.

Methane, which is many times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, will be destructed by flaring in this first phase of the project. The installation of the gas collection and flaring system will begin this month and is expected to be operational in July 2011. In the second phase, UNC will pipe the landfill gas to a generator for producing electricity to power its complex of buildings along Airport Drive. The 1,000-kilowatt power generation system, expected to be operational in early 2012, also may be an energy source for the first buildings constructed at Carolina North.

“We are very pleased that county staff has come forward and with University staff have conceived and now are making this project a reality,” said Valerie Foushee, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. “Orange County and the University make a strong team and it is my hope that other mutually beneficial projects will be jointly pursued in the future.”

Orange County has been investigating landfill gas recovery opportunities since the late 1990s, Foushee added. Only within the past four to five years has the regulatory and economic climate made gas recovery from small landfills feasible. UNC and Orange County reached an agreement on the project in 2009, with the University paying the county for use of the methane gas.

The project offers these benefits to the University and Orange County:

  • Reduction in carbon emissions through methane destruction;
  • Offsets from avoided purchased power;
  • Beneficial use of otherwise vented landfill gas;
  • Revenue stream to Orange County; and
  • Advancement of UNC carbon-neutrality goals.

The total emissions reduction as a result of the project is equivalent to any one of the following:

  • Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 8,000 passenger vehicles;
  • Carbon sequestered annually by 9,000 acres of pine forest;
  • Carbon dioxide emissions from burning 200 railcars worth of coal; or
  • Carbon dioxide emissions from 4.7 million gallons of gasoline consumed.

Landfill gas collection and treatment system handout: http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/campus/2010/unc%20landfill%20gas%20dedication%20handout%20ver%2002.pdf
UNC 2009 Climate Action Plan: http://www.climate.unc.edu/CAP/cap2009

UNC Energy Services contact: Ray DuBose, (919) 966-4100

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media mentions of sustainability-related programs, practices, people at UNC:

Orange County, UNC Kick Off Energy Project
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC and Orange County are beginning a joint project to convert methane gas from the county landfill into electricity for community buildings. Government and University officials gathered Tuesday at the Solid Waste Administration Offices Building to celebrate construction of the gas collection and flaring system, which will be operational next July. UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp says new energy is a great reason to bring the University and Orange County together.
Click here to read more.
UNC Release:
Click here to read more.

Environmental Impact Subject Of Carolina North Mtg
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC and the Town of Chapel Hill are inviting residents to a public meeting on Tuesday concerning the future development of Carolina North. The meeting is designed to explain the US Army Corps of Engineers’ permit process, which the University and the Town will have to complete before the development of Carolina North.
Click here to read more.

Lead in water linked to brass plumbing
United Press International
U.S. researchers warn even new buildings' brass plumbing components can create serious lead-in-water health problems that could go undetected. ...Study leader Carolyn Elfland of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and colleagues found high lead levels in water in their new buildings and asked Virginia Tech researchers for help.
Click here to read more.
UNC Release:
Click here to read more.

-Thanks to UNC News Services for finding these great stories AND compiling the summaries! You can find more UNC media coverage and stories online at http://uncnews.unc.edu

Monday, November 15, 2010

Media invited to new UNC-Orange County landfill gas project event

Tuesday (Nov. 16)
1:30 p.m.
Solid Waste Administration Offices Building
1207 Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill

Rep. Joe Hackney, North Carolina Speaker of the House, will speak at this event to mark the launch of a project to convert methane gas from the Orange County landfill into electricity. The event is co-hosted by Chancellor Holden Thorp of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Chair Valerie Foushee of the Orange County Board of Commissioners because Carolina and the county are partners in the project. Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs and Ray DuBose, director of Energy Services at UNC, will also speak.

Photo opportunities: At the end of the speeches, the platform party will go outside for a ceremonial and symbolic lighting of a gas flare. A tour of the landfill site also will be available immediately following the ceremony on a first-come, first-served basis.

Directions and parking: The Solid Waste Administration Offices Building is on Eubanks Road, about halfway between Rogers Road and Millhouse Road. Parking for the event is available next to the building. Please contact News Services no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, if you plan to attend.

Background: Methane gas is many times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. With this project, methane gas from the Orange County landfill that is currently being released into the atmosphere (and contributing to global warming) will be captured and converted into electrical energy. At first, the methane will be destructed by flaring. Next UNC will use the energy to power its complex of buildings along Airport Drive, with the potential for it to be an energy source for the first buildings constructed at Carolina North. In both cases, UNC will gain carbon credits for reducing pollution.

The first phase of the construction project is the installation of the gas collection and flaring system, with that system operational in July 2011. The second phase, piping the landfill gas to a generator for producing electricity, is expected to be complete by April 2012.

News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415

UNC Sustainability Update - Upcoming Events

Today's UNC Sustainability Update includes the following headlines:
  • Outdoor Education Center Interest Meeting

  • Ambassador Klaus Scharioth on transatlantic relations and the Transatlantic Climate Bridge

  • Music Saves Mountains

  • Carbon Nation Film Screening

  • Finding Your Green Dream Job

  • And more!

Click here to read the full UNC Sustainability Update.

Click here to join the UNC Sustainability Listserv.

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media mentions of sustainability-related programs, practices, people at UNC:

Shining Light on the Cost of Solar Energy
National Geographic
...Converting light into electricity with no moving parts is a profoundly different enterprise than turning a turbine to make power—the technology that is at work in coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydropower plants and, most visibly to the public, at wind farms. “Wind power is the same technology as it’s been for 1,000 years,” said Tom Meyer, a professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “There’s nothing to invent. It just needs to be improved.” The makers of wind turbines have made huge cost reductions in recent decades with relatively small tweaks to an otherwise familiar system.
Click here to read more.

Reducing the Tar Heels' carbon footprint (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill Herald
At Carolina, we're proud of the tar on our heels. But the carbon on our footprint is not something to brag about. Because of the dedication of Tar Heels all across campus, I'm pleased to say that we are making great strides toward reducing that carbon footprint. Earlier this month, our latest greenhouse gas inventory showed that UNC had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions for the first time, by 20 percent, taking us back to 2003 levels. That's a big step toward our commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. (Holden Thorp is chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)
Click here to read more.

College Campuses Continue to Leave Coal Behind
Reuters (Wire Service)
With more than 60 campuses nationwide getting energy from coal plants, student protests and lawsuits over power generation have become a part of the college experience. ...Commitments to transform campuses to largely or completely coal-free are coming from high-profile institutions, among them the University of North Carolina (UNC), the University of Illinois, Western Kentucky University, and Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. Already, UNC has named 2020 as its coal-free deadline, with an “aspirational” deadline of 2015.
Click here to read more.

-Thanks to UNC News Services for finding these great stories AND compiling the summaries! You can find more UNC media coverage and stories online at http://uncnews.unc.edu

Friday, November 5, 2010

Press Release Title Here

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites local residents, faculty, staff and students to attend a Nov. 16 public meeting to explain the permitting process required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before development at Carolina North.

The meeting will begin at 5:15 p.m. in the large basement conference room of the Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive. Free parking is available, and Chapel Hill Transit serves the library via the D route.

A representative from the Army Corps of Engineers will attend the meeting and be available to explain the permitting process and how the public may participate. Attendees will have opportunities to ask questions and share comments.

The public also is invited to review an electronic version of the draft application on the Carolina North website at http://cn.unc.edu

Carolina North is envisioned as a vibrant, compact, mixed-use academic campus on University-owned property along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, two miles north of the main campus. University and Town of Chapel Hill representatives signed a development agreement in June 2009 that covers the first 20 years of development on the site.

While most of the planned construction for Carolina North – when funding becomes available – will take place on or near the site of the Horace Williams Airport, streams and creeks cross other parts of the property, making any impact on wetlands an important consideration. The Army Corps of Engineers is the primary agency that regulates development in wetland areas and would have to approve any potential impact. 

The University plans to submit a permit application to the agency later this year. This month’s meeting will be the second public information meeting about the draft application. The first one was held June 21, 2010. While not required as part of the Army Corps of Engineers’ permitting process, these meetings are opportunities for the University to share information and receive feedback from the public. 

News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media mentions of sustainability-related programs, practices, people at UNC:

UNC Chapel Hill, Sears, JCPenney Named Biggest Kilowatt Losers
Reuters (Wire Service)
A residence hall at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a Sears store in Maryland and a JCPenney in California took first, second and third place respectively in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's contest to find the biggest kilowatt loser in the country. ...The winner was the Morrison Residence Hall at UNC (top picture), which reduced its energy use by 35.7 percent in one year and saved more than $250,000 on energy bills.
Click here to read more.
UNC Release:
Click here to read more.

Progress Energy, Ford team up to get Triangle ready for electric vehicles
The Triangle Business Journal
...Progress also is developing a charging station pilot program as part of a $200 million smart grid grant the company received from the U.S. Department of Energy. This will include installing about 600 stations across the company’s territory in the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, Progress has partnered on electric transportation initiatives with several universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State and the University of Florida.
Click here to read more.

-Thanks to UNC News Services for finding these great stories AND compiling the summaries! You can find more UNC media coverage and stories online at http://uncnews.unc.edu

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

UNC Sustainability - Upcoming Events

Today's UNC Sustainability Update includes the following headlines:
  • Highlands Field Site Interest Meeting

  • Composting Class

  • How Social Enterprise and Energy Solutions Can Fuel Bottom of the Pyramid Markets

  • Green Event Certified Trainings

  • Pie Cook-Off and Square Dance

  • And more!

Click here to read the full UNC Sustainability Update.

Click here to join the UNC Sustainability Listserv.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media mentions of sustainability-related programs, practices, people at UNC:

Dorm Wins Energy Contest
The Wall Street Journal
Ultimately, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels prevailed over rival North Carolina State Wolfpack—as well as trouncing Sears, J.C. Penney and Sheraton. The playing field: a national competition sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency to see which commercial building could trim its energy use the most over 12 months. The EPA will report Tuesday that ranking first was a dorm at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Click here to read more.
Related Links:
Click here to read more.
Click here to read more.
UNC News Release:
Click here to read more.

UNC wins EPA energy contest
"Marketplace" American Public Media
Six months ago, the Environmental Protection Agency launched its Biggest Loser competition. It's a contest to see which commercial building can lose the most kilowatts, and become the most energy efficient. Here's Eve Troeh with the results. ... First place in the EPA's National Building Competition goes to the University of North Carolina!
Click here to read more.
UNC News Release:
Click here to read more.

NC college dorm wins EPA energy savings contest
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A residence hall at the University of North Carolina beat more than a dozen competitors to win a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contest to see which building could save the most energy. The EPA announced Tuesday that Morrison Residence Hall on the university's Chapel Hill campus slashed energy use by nearly 36 percent in one year. That was best in a field of 14 buildings across the country chosen from nearly 200 that wanted to join the EPA's first National Building Competition.
Click here to read more.
Related Links:
Click here to read more.
Click here to read more.

International Water Conference at UNC
WUNC-FM
Hundreds of international water and sanitation experts will gather on UNC Chapel Hill's campus for a meeting on the future of the world's water. Larry Band heads the university's Institute on the Environment. He says producing consistently safe water isn't just a problem for the developing world. There are plenty of examples of threatened waterways nearby.
Click here to read more.

Thorp to Give Talk on Innovation
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC faculty members will have an opportunity Thursday to share their thoughts on innovation and entrepreneurship with Chancellor Holden Thorp. The talk is called “Beyond the Sciences: Why the World’s Problems Need the Whole University.” UNC Interim Director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities Bill Balthrop says it’s an extension of a roadmap called Innovate@Carolina: Important Ideas for a Better World.
Click here to read more.
UNC News Release:
Click here to read more.

North Carolina Dorm ‘Biggest Loser’ in EPA Building Competition
Bloomberg News
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill cut energy use at a residence hall by 36 percent, making it the winner of an Environmental Protection Agency contest inspired by the television show “The Biggest Loser.” Morrison Residence Hall, which saved more than $250,000 and cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 730 metric tons in one year, took first place in the first National Building Competition to reduce energy waste, the EPA said today in a statement. The 14 buildings in the competition together cut their energy bills by $950,000 from Sept. 1, 2009, to Aug. 31, the EPA said.
Click here to read more.
UNC News Release:
Click here to read more.

UNC College Kids School Everybody on How to Save Energy (and Money)
Time
In a national competition organized by the Environmental Protection Agency, buildings around the country were challenged to decrease energy use over the course of a year. The winning building was a dorm at UNC-Chapel Hill, which reduced energy use by 35.7% and saved more than $250,000 on energy costs.
Click here to read more.
Related Links:
Click here to read more.
Click here to read more.
Click here to read more.
UNC News Release:
Click here to read more.

Morrison Hall, a winner, 'test bed for new ideas'
The Chapel Hill Herald
With a light mist falling outside of Morrison Residence Hall, officials with the Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that the Carolina Watt-Busters is the winner of the agency's first National Building Competition. The EPA held the year-long competition to see which of 14 competing teams could reduce energy consumption by the greatest percentage in a large commercial building.
Click here to read more.
Related Links:
Click here to read more.
Click here to read more.
Click here to read more.
UNC News Release:
Click here to read more.

UNC's powerful example (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Bragging rights are nice, but $250,000 is better. Morrison Residence Hall at UNC Chapel Hill ended up with both after it won the Environmental Protection Agency's first EnergyStar National Building Competition. The operators of 200 buildings across the country applied for the yearlong contest -- which, by the way, didn't offer a prize. Morrison, a 45-year-old, 10-story brick monolith that houses about 860 students, was one of 14 competitors chosen by the EPA. The competition's "prize money" came from the dorm's savings on energy bills.
Click here to read more.

-Thanks to UNC News Services for finding these great stories AND compiling the summaries! You can find more UNC media coverage and stories online at http://uncnews.unc.edu