The University of Maine at Orono is planning to build an addition for its aging steam plant that it expects to help it meet its climate goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.
The school signed onto the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment in 2007 with that goal in mind. Daniel Dixon is the Director of Sustainability for UMaine.
"We have reduced our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 34 percent since 2005, and we're hoping the new addition to the steam plant will help us reach our goals by 2040 or even sooner rather than later," he said.
Dixon says three dual-fuel boilers in the new UMaine Energy Center will allow the school to use any renewable fuels that exist now or will be developed in the future.
"Part of the reason to build in fuel flexibility is that over time as energy markets fluctuate we'll have the option of switching fuels if we need to, and when we do choose one fuel to use we can have another fuel in storage as a backup," Dixon said.
The steam plant addition is still in the design phase. The goal is to break ground on the project in 2026, with it being online a year or two later.
The UMaine Energy Center addition will be constructed with Low Embodied Carbon building materials where feasible. The addition will include a Flexible Active Learning Classroom for UMaine's educational and research programs.
UMaine is also planning to upgrade its electrical distribution system and use commitments for wind, solar and other renewables to further reduce its carbon footprint.
