Ithaca College

Lanny Joyce & Ed Wilson
Cornell University, Utilities and Energy Management

• Wednesday, December 6
• 4:30 pm
• Textor 102, Ithaca College

Can cogeneration and/or waste heat recovery be considered a source of renewable energy?

The Tompkins Renewable Energy Education Alliance (TREEA) will host a presentation on the new combined heat and power addition at Cornell University by Lanny Joyce and Ed Wilson, managers in the Utilities and Energy Management department at Cornell.

Cornell’s central heating plant (CHP) first came online in 1922 producing steam from Pennsylvania anthracite coal. The plant relies on low sulfur bituminous coal as a primary fuel, supplemented with either natural gas or oil when needed. Currently, Cornell buys about 85 percent of its electricity from the grid through New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG). Of the remaining 15 percent, 13 percent is a product of cogeneration. The other 2% is from the university hydroplant on Fall Creek. Soon, however, the majority of Cornell’s electricity is expected to come from internal sources.

Cogeneration produces heat and electricity from one fuel. In a conventional power plant, a boiler produces high-pressure steam that is used to drive a turbine, which in turn drives a generator to produce electricity. The exhaust steam is generally condensed to water, which goes back to the boiler and the heat released in condensation is wasted. Cornell's current cogeneration, built in 1986, extracts energy from steam and transforms it into electricity. Before the steam is sent to the campus, it is passed through two steam turbines to produce electricity. This cuts down (by about 50%) the amount of energy wasted as heat to the environment by meeting these needs separately. Combined heat and power can cost-effectively reduce environmental impacts associated with energy use.