Morris District Heating/Cooling Expansion Project - University of Minnesota, Morris Campus
Morris, MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota set two major goals for developing their campus infrastructure at Morris, Minnesota. Create a price hedge against high natural gas prices and test and demonstrate the use of biomass energy in rural Minnesota. The task at hand for the design team: plan the capital outlay and forecast operating expenses.
To meet the challenge, HGA surveyed current and future energy requirements for the campus and other buildings near the campus, used a consultant to evaluate the available fuel supply and sifted through a range of technical solutions to meet the goals. The design of the new components is integrated with the old plant to improve its overall reliability in both the steam and chilled water systems. The result of the effort is a steam plant that is designed to operate at pressures similar to the equipment already in place, an absorption chiller which will diversify the energy sources not only for heating, but cooling as well, and a capital plan the university believes it can fund.
"We picked the team HGA assembled for its experience and the leadership you could bring to the project. You have done an excellent job leading the process," says Chuck Koncker, the university's project manager. Planning a project that can be funded and operated economically can be a tough challenge, especially when there is a research component. The recommended solution brings operations and research together in a practical way.
Within the investigation the team looked at: