Fuel Diversity
Sep 15, 2006, 12:52:00
The University of Georgia operates a Central Steam Plant (CSP) to produce medium pressure steam for distribution to campus buildings. Steam is produced from a combination of three fossil fuels: coal, natural gas, heating oil. This fuel diversity allows for bulk rate fuel purchasing on an interruptible basis, leading to substantial cost savings.
For the majority of the year, campus steam can be produced exclusively from one fuel source. This allows UGA to mitigate risks associated with the pricing and delivery of fuels – particularly natural gas. During September and October of 2005, natural gas costs more than doubled due to the effect of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. During this period, the ability to produce steam from coal avoided cost increases in excess of $ 400,000 per month.