UNC is conducting a test burn of wood pellets over the next two weeks to study whether it’s feasible to convert the university’s co-generation plant to biomass.
UNC Energy Services officials called off a test scheduled for last November out of concerns about a steady supply of fuel. A supply of 500 tons of dried wood pellets has been collected at the plant for the burn, which started Monday. The test will determine if pellets and coal can be co-fired at the plant.
A smaller, 20-ton test firing last September proved successful.
The university committed to a reduction in coal use at the plant in its 2009 Climate Action Plan and has pledged to be coal-free by 2020.
Wood pellets are just one form of biomass under consideration. Energy Services also plans to test the feasibility of torrefied wood in the late spring, depending on the availability of the charcoal-like fuel.
— Staff Reports