MU Power Plant

The next installment of the GoGreen573 webisode is on its way! But until that time I'll explain the good stuff.

MU's Power Plant services the University of Missouri campus, and does so by using biomass fuel. Currently, Campus Facilities uses wood waste to generate electricity. Enormous piles of chopped up pallets and other wood chips are mixed with coal, and wood waste is a "plentiful" and "available" resource throughout the area. If I had in Milk Duds the amount of wood chips dropped off at the plant daily, I'd be one happy lady...Additionally, the MU Power Plant website notes using wood waste as a fuel source decreases the campus fuel bill by $50,000.

The plant also uses tire-derived fuel. That's right, tire-derived. The plant partners with Missouri Department of Corrections, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and Missouri Department of Transportation to collect tire scraps and use them as an alternative to coal. According to the site, the plant burns the equivalent of 350,000 tires each year. Though it may not sound like it, tire burns cleaner than coal. Using tire scraps saves MU $300,000 each year. As my mom would say, holy guacamole, Batman.

Multiple biomass projects are in the works at MU's Power Plant, too. Researchers are testing grass and crop waste to see if these resources could be effective biomass fuels.

Check back for the webisode!

Signing off,
Beth