USM converted the Portland campus central heating plant from oil to natural gas — a change that will save USM approximately $315,000 a year and reduce its carbon output by roughly 1,048 metric tons per year, according to a university press release.
“This is a huge accomplishment that has many environmental as well as economic benefits,” said Bob Bertram, executive director of facilities management. According to Bertram, the transfer is equivalent to saving 117,885 gallons of gasoline, or the average amount of electricity used in 127 homes in a year.
Dan Gearan, associate executive director for maintenance and operations, said USM has been interested in converting the central heating plant for several years. However, the university first needed to work with its gas supplier, Unitil, to extend a natural gas line to USM. “The problem was that the gas lines in the city were a low pressure system, and it wasn’t enough to be able to handle our boiler plant,” he said.
Natural gas is a mixture of colorless, odorless gases, primarily methane. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas is more fuel efficient than petroleum, and produces fewer emissions. “We were burning #6 residual oil, which is a heavy oil. It has a higher carbon output,” said Gearan. “So by switching to natural gas, we have far less pollutants going into the air.” Additionally, natural gas is subject to more stable market prices than oil, according to Gearan.
USM consumed an average of 280,000 gallons of oil a year in order to heat the Portland campus, costing the university an annual cost of around $610,000, according to the press release. Facilities management budgeted $270,000 to convert the central heating plant. With the conversion expected to save USM over $300,000 annually, the investment should be recouped in under a year.
The Gorham campus heating plant already uses natural gas, though it has the ability to burn either oil or natural gas, depending on what makes more economic sense at a given time.
The switch to natural gas is part of USM’s Plan for Carbon Neutrality, where the university pledged to produce no net emissions of greenhouse gases no later than 2040. According to statistics included in the plan, 38 percent of the university’s carbon emissions result from stationary, on-site fuel combustion. “One of the numerous goals in that plan is to decrease our reliance on fuel oil and convert to the much more environmentally friendly natural gas,” said Executive Director of Public Affairs Bob Caswell.
In addition to the conversion, USM intends to reduce its environmental impact through waste reduction, carbon offsets and renovations to increase energy efficiency.