On Thursday, Sept. 8, Longwood University officially opened its brand new, fuel-efficient heating plant for the Board of Visitors and guests to see. Vice President of Facilities Management and Real Property Richard Bratcher opened the ceremony with a small speech, and said in his eyes, "this building is the most beautiful."
He explained that while other buildings are beautiful structurally, this building is beautiful because of what it represents to Longwood's campus—something that overshadows the other 20 plus buildings Bratcher has been involved in the construction of on campus. Bratcher called the new facility a "shining representation of ingenuity, sustainability and a vision for tomorrow."
According to Bratcher, the idea for the fuel-efficient heating plant has been around since the 1990s, and accomplishing the goal is a great achievement for the university.
The facility, located on Barlow Field, has been in operation since January 2011. It replaces the old heating plant constructed in 1938. The new biomass plant contains two large silos, measuring a combined capacity of 400,000 cubic feet that are enclosed in a brick façade building. The silos mainly hold sawdust, but have the ability to diversify what it can process.
An example is small wood chips that can also be used. The facility also has the space for a third boiler to be built to accommodate the growing demands of the school in the future. In total, according to Longwood's press release, "each boiler can produce 20,700 pounds of saturated steam per hour."
Bratcher introduced President Patrick Finnegan to speak at the ceremony. Finnegan gave a brief history of Longwood's heating facility, explaining how the campus has been burning wood biomass since 1983. "We were green before green was cool," joked Finnegan, earning laughter from the crowd. Finnegan then mentioned some of the highlights of having the new heating facility on campus.
The current savings of utilizing the plant sums up to $2.8 million. The silos containing the biomass hold up to a week to a week and a half of fuel, and the ash from the facility is composted and reused as fertilizer on the campus grounds. "Our colleagues are green with envy," said the president.
Virginia Secretary of Education Laura Forenash was also on hand at the ribbon cutting ceremony. She praised Longwood's ongoing efforts to promote sustainability. Forenash said, "Governor McDonnell would be particularly pleased withthe tremendous environmental impact and ongoing cost efficiencies this new plant will bring to Longwood and the larger community." According to Forenash, Longwood is the only higher education institute in Virginia burning biomass, proving to be a model for alternative fuel resources for other schools.
On top of Longwood using a renewable resource for fuel, the campus is also supporting the local economy of Southern Virginia. The sawdust, mostly pine and some hardwood, "is a byproduct of from local mills." By burning the sawdust from the local mills, the plant is "ecologically responsible," as the emissions from the plant are far less harmful than those put out by gas, coal or oil.
