Energy efficiency has come into the spotlight as environmental, oil-related and economic concerns have entered national and international discussions. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was awarded the Energy Star Combined Heat and Power Award last week for their efforts to respond to these issues.
MIT has worked hard to bring energy efficiency to its Cambridge campus, said President Charles Vest as he and his colleagues were presented with the award for the school’s successful efforts with its William R. Dickson Co-generation Facility, which works to use less fuel and conserve energy.
“It is important to the remarkable array of people that worked on this project to see the fruits of their labor and to see the improvement in energy efficiency and the environment,” Vest said.
When MIT built its Cambridge campus in 1916, it constructed a central heat and power plant, along with steam and electric distribution systems. These used burning coal to serve the campus.
In 1995, after installing steam turbine-driven chillers at the central plant and establishing a district cooling system, MIT added co-generation to the plant. Co-generation, by putting otherwise wasted heat to a useful purpose, is much more efficient than separately generating electricity and steam, said Superintendent of Utilities Roger Moore. Burning less fuel reduces pollution as it saves energy and cost, he explained.
“Roger, my hat is off to you,” said Peter Cooper, director of utilities. “We have many long-time employees who used to run the oil plant with manual controls. They have learned to use the new computer system very well; co-generation is up and running smoothly.”
Victoria Sirianni, chief facilities officer at MIT, welcomed the audience and introduced both the speakers and the concepts behind the co-generation plant. Conceived in 1985, the plant took 10 years to build, she said. During the 10-year period, people at MIT were working toward a vision of stabilizing the cost of electricity, enhancing reliability on campus and significantly benefiting the environment, Sirianni said.
Sirianni pointed out the plant is not only effective, but attractive as well. It has won numerous design awards, including the Boston Society Architects Honor Award and the AIA Honor Award for Design Excellence.
MIT developed the facility in accordance with the national Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act. In response to oil-price shocks caused by oil embargoes, Congress enacted PURPA in 1978 to promote the development of co-generation as a way of reducing energy consumption nationwide, thus reducing national dependence on foreign oil.
MIT’s Department of Utilities said this type of energy is central to sustainability. The energy systems eliminate the space and noise of cooling towers, chillers and boilers in offices, classrooms and residence buildings. Centralizing production equipment is cost-effective, highly efficient and environmentally safe.
“MIT’s William R. Dickson Co-generation Facility is an example of the direction we need to lead this nation in for energy use,” said Christian Fellner, a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Thank you for giving us a foundation to build on.”
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