University of New Hampshire
OP-8: Clean and Renewable Energy

EcoLine is a 12.7 mile underground pipeline that delivers purified methane gas from Waste Management's nearby Turnkey Recycling and Environmental Enterprise (TREE) landfill facility in Rochester. The landfill methane gas is collected from 300 wells in the landfill, purified, and then piped to the on-campus Co-Generation Plant (COGEN). The landfill gas replaces commercial natural gas as the primary fuel in UNH’s COGEN plant. Construction on the EcoLine project began in 2007, and in April 2009 the pipeline came online to begin delivering up to 85% of the campus' energy needs. UNH is the first university in the country to use landfill gas as its primary fuel source. EcoLine cost an estimated $49 million - all internally-funded - with an anticipated payback within 10 years of the project. Both the COGEN plant and the landfill gas projects were financed by the campus through borrowing. Starting in 2009, UNH has sold the renewable energy certificates (REC's) associated with EcoLine's electricity generation to help finance the capital costs of the project and to invest in additional energy efficiency projects on campus. By selling RECs, UNH demonstrates fiscal as well as environmental responsibility.

As mentioned above, EcoLine is the primary fuel source for the on-campus COGEN plant for heating, cooling and electricity. UNH SELLS REC's off our EcoLine landfill gas pipeline into our cogeneration plan - we don't purchase them. Even though UNH now sells RECs, we retain the rights and split the renewable non-electric energy three ways: RECs, heat for campus buildings, and surplus electricity is sold back to the grid. We use the funds generated to finance the EcoLine project and to reinvest in our revolving energy efficiency fund on campus. While we therefore cannot claim all of the greenhouse emissions reductions from our production and use renewable energy, we are not only lowering our energy use and associated emissions on campus, but we are selling renewable energy and therefore helping our state and region meet stated renewable energy and climate goals. http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/climate_ed/cogen_landfillgas.html http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/climate_ed/recs.html

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As mentioned above, EcoLine is the primary fuel source for the on-campus COGEN plant for heating, cooling and electricity. UNH SELLS REC's off our EcoLine landfill gas pipeline into our cogeneration plan - we don't purchase them. Even though UNH now sells RECs, we retain the rights and split the renewable non-electric energy three ways: RECs, heat for campus buildings, and surplus electricity is sold back to the grid. We use the funds generated to finance the EcoLine project and to reinvest in our revolving energy efficiency fund on campus. While we therefore cannot claim all of the greenhouse emissions reductions from our production and use renewable energy, we are not only lowering our energy use and associated emissions on campus, but we are selling renewable energy and therefore helping our state and region meet stated renewable energy and climate goals. http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/climate_ed/cogen_landfillgas.html http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/climate_ed/recs.html

As mentioned above, EcoLine is the primary fuel source for the on-campus COGEN plant. The COGEN plant retains waste heat normally lost during the production of electricity and instead uses this energy to heat buildings, in turn reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions. The installation of the COGEN plant resulted in an estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 21% in Academic Year (AY) 2006 compared to AY 2005.

UNH SELLS REC's off our EcoLine landfill gas pipeline into our cogeneration plan. We use the funds to finance the EcoLine project and to reinvest in our revolving energy efficiency fund on campus. As a result, we cannot claim all of the greenhouse emissions reductions from our production and use on campus of renewable energy as someone else is "buying" this right. In the end, though, UNH is reducing emissions, helping others to do so, and our state and region meet its renewable energy and climate change goals. http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/climate_ed/cogen_landfillgas.html http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/climate_ed/recs.html