University of Redlands > About Redlands > Green College > Cogeneration Plant

Cogeneration Plant

 "As one of the 605 colleges and universities across the country to have signed the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, the University of Redlands is committed to significantly reducing its carbon footprint. The cogeneration plant is an important milestone toward this objective."        
- Phil Doolittle, University of Redlands chief operations officer.

Redlands cogeneration and chiller plant enables the University to produce a majority of its own energy, as well as heating and cooling for a third of the buildings on campus.

The system uses a 1,500-kW Caterpillar lean-burn natural gas engine, which has a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to control emissions. Waste heat produced in the process is used to provide energy for a chiller, which then gives chilled water for the campus cooling loop. The waste heat is also used to help provide hot water for the heating loop.

The idea for an onsite cogeneration plant came several years ago during a state energy crisis. The University consulted with Goss Engineering of Corona, which designed the system; Johnson Power Systems, with which the University has a strong partnership, provided the reciprocating diesel engine and the Kato gen-set, the electrical generator.

The University's efforts to be environmentally conscious resulted in a 30-percent reduction of its carbon footprint—and a rebate of $739,000 to the University from Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas Company) in 2009 as part of its Self-Generation Incentive Program.

Redlands cogeneration plant not only allows the campus to rely less on outside energy suppliers, it also provides environmental benefits that are equivalent to planting more than 1,000 acres of forest while removing 640 cars from the road.

Our carbon footprint

• On campus co-generation has reduced the carbon footprint by 33%
• Facitilites Management will eliminate gas-powered vehicles from our fleet by 2012