Denison University Plant

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Denison University in Granville, Ohio, uses coal from southern Ohio and natural gas in its central heating plant to provide steam for heating buildings, domestic hot water, and cooking in its dining halls. In Fiscal Year 2010-2011, the university burned 4,130 tons of bituminous coal costing $333,020 and producing an estimated 21 million pounds of carbon dioxide. According to facilities director Arthur Chonko,the university has estimated that it would cost approximately $750,000 to $1,000,000 per year to switch to natural gas using the current plant. The university is currently studying alternatives including combined heat and power (CHP). In 2014, the university plant completed the switch from coal to natural gas.

Campus Activism

• Ohio Student Environmental Coalition

Resources

• "Changing the Landscape at Denison: Envisioning Sustainability Final Report" Denison University Environmental Audit Report

Related SourceWatch articles

• Campus coal plants
• Existing U.S. Coal Plants
• Opposition to existing coal plants
• Coal
• Coal and jobs
• Coal-fired power plant capacity and generation
• Coal phase-out
• Coal plant conversion projects
• Coal plants near residential areas

External resources

• Anne C. Mulkern, "Colleges Are Battlegrounds for Coal Fight," Greenwire, October 14, 2009.
• Campuses Beyond Coal Campaign, Sierra Club, September 2009.
• "DOE Announces Winners of Annual University Coal Research Grants," July 7, 2005.
• American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment