Member of the Month: University of Minnesota, Morris

New biomass plant offsets 80% of campus energy costs

A back-of-the-napkin idea conceived over a restaurant meal nearly nine years ago came to life in early October of 2008 when the University of Minnesota Morris (UM-M), an ACORE member since 2006, officially launched a new biomass gasification plant that will shave 80% off the campus’s monthly heating and cooling bills.

At the dedication ceremonies for the plant, Cheri Olf from American Council On Renewable Energy presented UM-M vice chancellor Lowell Rasmussen – who was instrumental in developing the concept for the campus -- with ACORE’s first-ever Campus Excellence Award.

Rasmussen, who also serves on ACORE’s Higher Education Committee, says that the idea for the plant offered an alternative to skyrocketing natural gas costs UM-M was facing. The school wanted to lower costs, and its student body had been advocating for a renewable campus for a number of years. Rasmussen said he took their words and the college motto, "Learn what's important and do what matters," seriously. Rasmussen began working out the details at a restaurant dinner with West Central Research and Outreach Center renewable energy director Mike Reese and State Rep. Torrey Westrom of Elbow Lake.  

Plant construction is now complete and the gasifier is up and running. Annually it will burn about 9,000 tons of biomass and is expected to offset about 80 percent of the University’s fossil fuel use.

Many organizations, government and non-government alike, contributed funding for building the plant, Rasmussen said, and through an additional grant from the United States Department of Agriculture and Energy totaling $1.89 million –one of only 12 such grants to be awarded -- the biomass gasifier will continue to be a research project for students and professors as costs are analyzed and feedstock use reviewed.  The grant also allowed UMM and the West Central Research and Outreach Center to partner with the USDA Agricultural Research Service to conduct further research on carbon sequestration.

A speech by Patrick Chester, President of of the Morris Campus Student Association, noted that the one-of-a-kind biomass plant offers opportunities for students to experience first hand how renewable energy can be put to use in society. “The biomass plant is perfect for our University,” said Chester. It is a project that was pushed for by students and shows our common desire to preserve our environment, while offering research opportunities to students that they will not find anywhere else.”