A new deal is expected to reduce University of Dayton's carbon footprint by 71%.
The University of Dayton has a new business deal with Tallgrass Dayton Community Power LLC and AES Ohio to use electricity that comes from waste heat.
The process will begin in Washington Court House at a waste heat recovery system run by Tallgrass, said
Rick Krysiak, the school’s vice president of facilities management and planning.
"They're going to use a rank and cycle generator to capture that waste heat, generate electricity, and put it right into the grid for AES Ohio," Krysiak said. "Then AES Ohio will take that power and then sell it to the University of Dayton as decarbonized power, to meet our sustainability goals."
This facility will be connected to an existing natural gas compression site and is expected to begin operating around the end of 2025.
According to Krysiak, a majority of the university’s carbon footprint comes from purchased power. He said this project will make the campus more UD sustainable as well as save money.
"Our models estimate that over the 15 year lifea of the project, we'll save roughly half a million dollars," Krysiak said. "In addition to that, it will reduce our carbon footprint by 71%."
Krysiak also says the facility will provide research opportunities for UD students.
"Our students will be able to go down to the site, have access to data, and be able to potentially do research and look at the innovative process of how this rank and cycle actually captures waste heat and turns it into electricity," he said.
Last month, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved this sustainable electricity plan between UD, Tallgrass Dayton Community Power, LLC, and AES Ohio.
