Friday Focus: Power plant update
January 24, 2020
— by Julie Queen, vice chancellor for administrative services
As we enter the new year there is a certain optimism that comes with it. In 2020, that has also meant a fairly persistent cold snap that reminds us we are Alaskans, and we are built for the weather. When the temperature drops, this is also a critical time for the new Combined Heat and Power Plant as we complete commissioning. Project commissioning is the process of ensuring all systems and components of the new facility are designed, tested and will function according to the UAF requirements.
Every morning on my way to work, I turn the corner from Chena Hot Springs Road onto the Steese Highway, and the first thing I look for (other than Denali on a clear day, if I’m lucky) is the steam rising from the new plant across town. There have been some days without steam, which means our team of project managers and plant operators are fixing something, may be preparing for a new test or piece of equipment, or are working through a planned outage for maintenance. More consistently though, the steam has been reliable as we transition into the next phase.
Speaking of steam — there seems to be a lot of it, and you may be wondering why there is steam coming from both the new plant and the Atkinson (old) plant. This is happening as a failsafe during boiler testing because of the very cold weather. Right now, we are running one of the old oil-fired boilers (#4) to ensure we can heat campus quickly and keep up with the heating demand in the event of an upset, or trip, in the new boiler. We expect to use Atkinson in this way while testing continues. This cold weather testing also provides our utilities staff with valuable operating information with respect to our new systems.
Moving into 2020, the plant is providing heat and power to the Fairbanks campus. This is the largest capital project in UAF and UA history, and the level of complexity is high, so this accomplishment is one to be celebrated. There is an extremely hardworking team of people who deserve kudos for this major milestone, and the optimism is growing as the punch list of “fix it” items becomes shorter.
Boiler testing for performance, efficiency and emissions occurred over the winter break. A second efficiency test is scheduled for next week to ensure the initial results can be duplicated, which will demonstrate the boilers’ reliability. So far, the tests indicate the boiler is performing well — so well in fact, the preliminary results show the stack emissions are magnitudes lower than required in our air quality permit, especially for PM2.5 and sulphur oxides. There is one more test to meet air quality requirements that monitor over a 30-day average before results can be finalized. This is especially important as the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation further develops the Serious State Implementation Plan, or Serious SIP, focused on improving air quality in our community with an emphasis on identifying local solutions to local issues. UAF is actively engaging with state leaders including ADEC Commissioner Jason Brune and his team to ensure our new plant meets or exceeds air quality standards and contributes to solutions on this important issue. The Serious SIP is currently under review by the Environmental Protection Agency at a federal level for acceptance.
Next steps include smaller tests related to the steam turbine equipment, continued training of utilities staff, updates to our standard operating procedures, reliability and efficiency enhancements, and the noted punch list repairs. As construction completion nears and regular operations begin, UAF will evaluate options to appropriately monetize this resource, ensuring the UAF community reliant on this heat and power remains top priority, and potentially developing additional revenue streams where viable. Although there is still much work to be done, I am encouraged by this progress and am delighted to enter the new year feeling enthusiastic and most importantly — warm!
Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week.