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CHARLESTON - Turning the dirt Friday for the new biomass-fueled energy plant at Eastern Illinois University was easy.
In less than two years, the facility will be operating on a 320-acre site on the southeast corner of the college campus, on Illinois 130 and Edgar Drive.
"It took a village to make this project possible. And what a village!" Eastern President Bill Perry said during the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the plant that will burn wood chips for gasification to create steam for the campus.
The renewable energy project will reduce Eastern's electricity use by 6.2 million kilowatt hours per year and remove about 20,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, based on Environmental Protection Agency figures.
Honeywell International will oversee the construction of the center, as well as the installation of agreed-upon energy conservation measures on the broader campus at Eastern. In total, the project will cost $80 million, and the energy center is estimated to cost about two-thirds of that total.
The new facility will produce the university's heating and cooling needs through an environmentally acceptable method.
Honeywell guarantees Eastern a cost savings equal to or greater than the annual cost of financing the project. Annual energy savings of less than the guaranteed amount would be supplemented by Honeywell, and that supplement would be used to repay amounts financed, officials said.
"This is truly a wonderful day, and it's not everyday you can be part of a project this size that is truly renewable," said Paul Bardon, Honeywell vice president and general manager of the Americas.
Right now, the project, expected to provide heating by the fall of 2011, has a flexible future, said Gary Reed, director of facilities planning and management. Small wood chips harvested from lumber operations will provide the fuel when the facility is operative at first, but that fuel source could be replaced.
"Micanthus is one locally grown option. We're looking at research with that plant that is like bamboo and grows up to 11 feet tall," Reed said.
Another fuel source could also come from the surrounding countryside: corn stalks cut and compressed into pellets.
"Without a market, you don't get the research to perfect this. We're hoping this plant can help drive a local market for agriculture products that can provide fuel," Reed said.
The energy plant will replace the 84-year-old, coal-powered steam plant.
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