Conserving coal

Kentucky is a coal state, so I wasn't really surprised to learn years ago that the main University of Louisville campus hosted a coal-fired steam-generating plant that heated the campus.

This past week, the University announced that it would stop using coal in this plant by 2015 and replace the fuel with natural gas! The local Courier-Journal reported the good news on June 15.

Though this will help the University to reduce its carbon emissions (and appear a bit greener to the outside world), the move largely reflects a decision to save on costs:

Continuing to use coal would require construction of an $8 million bag house, a pollution control device that would collect particulate matter in a 50-foot tall building, said Larry Owsley, U of L's vice president for business affairs.

The cost of the equipment and size of the building are impractical, he said.

In any case, I commend the University for making this move. Larry Owsley, in particular, has made many valuable contributions to campus initiatives.


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