Building proposal rejected

The proposal for a new utilities plant at IU was recently rejected in favor of renovations for the existing plant. The utilities plant, located on Walnut Grove, provides hot and cold water to campus buildings residence halls. The construction of the new plant was slated for 2006 and estimated to cost $120 million.\nUtilities Manager Michael McGinnis said cost was a primary concern.\n"We presented the (IU) board (of trustees) with three alternatives: renovate the existing plant, switch fuels or build a new plant," McGinnis said. "They agreed on the philosophy of fuel flexibility but opted for renovations, which will cost $45 million." \nThe technology at the utilities plant, which was constructed in the 1950s, is now obsolete and will have to be updated to meet clean air regulations for Indiana effective by 2007. According to the Clean Air Act, power plants must use Maximum Available Control Technology to reduce pollution.\nPhilip Stevens, professor of atmospheric chemistry at IU, said a new power plant would significantly reduce emissions.\nPhysical Plant Director Hank Hewetson said although the new facility would have greatly reduced emissions, the renovation will also have the same outcome.\n"The new plant would have been up and running in a short period of time, and it would have had a brand new compliance facility," Hewetson said. "But the emissions have to be reduced to meet state standards, and that is what the upgrades will do in phases."\nUtility Supervisor Jim Bayne said he had a lot of affection for the present utilities building and the boilers.\n"All the boilers have personalities like people," Bayne said. "Some are easy to operate and some give a lot of trouble."\nBayne said the current plant currently uses 95 percent coal and 5 percent natural gas. The proposed plant was going to be an oil and gas plant.\nCoal, according to the journal Scientific American, is a dirty fuel that can ravage the land when mined and produce acid rain that damages lakes, forests and crops.\nAccording to the EPA, large coal burning power plants in the Midwest have received attention for their contribution to acid rain because of the high sulfur content of the coal they use. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released from the Midwestern power plants rise high into the air and are carried by winds toward the East Coast and Canada, causing acid rain.\n"The sulfur dioxide emissions depend upon the quality of coal we use," McGinnis said. "Last year when the coal had lower sulfur content, the cost of our permits dropped by 50 percent," referring to the permits that record the plant's program for meeting sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Those records are then submitted to the state and EPA.\nHewetson said the renovated plant will use coal as its primary source of fuel.\n"We have a 500-year supply of Indiana coal, and we must use it," he said. "But the new boilers will have fuel flexibility, and people have tried using biomass and shredded tires."\nMcGinnis said the cost of using natural gas is three times that of coal.\nAccording to the United Nations Environment Program, natural gas generates fewer pollutants than any other fossil fuel, as well as less carbon dioxide. \nStevens said he believes even though coal fired plants contribute significantly to air pollution, the utilities plant is a small player in the pollution scheme of Bloomington.\n"Automobiles are the biggest source of air pollution in Bloomington," Stevens said. "If students use public transportation or ride a bike to classes instead of driving everyday, the reduction in pollution levels will be significant."\nStevens said the option of renewable sources of energy for the utilities plant would be considered only if students expressed a demand for it.\n"If you have students saying that they want renewable sources of energy and are willing to pay higher tuition for it, then that option can definitely be considered," he said.\nBayne said he was excited about the renovation.\n"Cutting-edge pollution control equipment is going to be added to the boilers," he said. "I will work to operate the plant as efficiently and economically with as little pollution for my son at IU as possible."\n-- Contact staff writer Sheeba Madan at smadan@indiana.edu.