University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Considers Cogeneration Expansion

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). In order to keep pace with the rapidly growing campus, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has determined that an expansion of its cogeneration plant will be necessary. The University is currently seeking a design firm to help them complete the preliminary work necessary to get this project off the ground.

The $30 million cogeneration project will in fact be, essentially, a two-part project. Initial plans call for an upgrade of the existing 28 MW cogeneration unit, increasing its output to 34 MW of electricity. In addition, the University will install a new 24 MW cogeneration unit plus supporting systems to boost their overall capacity to 58 MW total.

A smaller project has also been developed to support the proposed cogeneration expansion and other infrastructure improvements the university has planned. The university will spend $5 million upgrading its three (3) substations to handle the additional load that university expansions will add to the system.

The cogeneration project is anticipated to begin construction work in the fall of 2004, while the substation upgrades will begin earlier, with construction beginning in early 2004.

The cogeneration expansion, combined with the substation upgrades and other infrastructure projects the university is currently working on, should put the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in an excellent position to handle any expansion projects the scholastic areas of the university wish to do in the next few years.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was chartered in 1789 but actual construction on the first building did not begin until October 12, 1793 and is the oldest state university in America. The first building, the only structure on the site for the first two (2) years, was a two-story brick structure called "Old East" that is now a National Historical Landmark. The first students began classes in February 1795 and by March the university had 41 students and two professors. Today, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has over 250 permanent buildings supporting over 23,000 students. Offering classes in over 100 fields including 84 bachelor's, 165 master's and 108 doctoral degrees as well as professional degrees in dentistry, medicine, pharmacy and law, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of the premier universities in the United States.