The University of Dayton says it has cut its campus carbon footprint by 71% by switching its electricity supply to a waste heat to power system. The power comes from an existing natural gas compressor station on the Rockies Express Pipeline in Washington Court House, Ohio. AES Ohio buys the clean power and delivers it to the university under a 15 year fixed rate deal. The university says the arrangement covers all of its 78,000 MWh of annual electricity use. The move is a practical example of campus procurement using waste heat that would otherwise be lost, rather than installing on-site solar or wind. It also leaves room for follow up questions. The remaining 29% of UD's footprint comes from gas and transportation, and the article does not disclose how the new power price compares with the previous contract. Still, the project shows how universities can cut emissions through off-site clean energy agreements tied to existing infrastructure.
