Combined Heat and Power - Ripley Heat Plant 

Northern operates the Ripley Heating Plant which supplies steam to most of our campus’ three million square feet of university facilities.  The primary fuel for the heating plant is natural gas with fuel oil as a backup.  The Heating Plant is also the primary distribution point for electricity purchased from the Marquette Board of Light and Power (BLP), a municipal generating station.  Backup electrical power consists of emergency level of individual diesel/natural gas generators, in a minimum number of the University’s major facilities.   

Northern’s facilities staff and the consulting engineering firm of HDR-Cummins and Barnard have studied the feasibility of various upgrades and changes to the Heating Plant which would increase energy efficiency; increase the dependability of electricity availability; utilize renewable resources, and provide for use of diversified fuel sources. 

As a result of this review, a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Cogeneration addition to the existing Plant has been developed.  The project would utilize a solid fuel high pressure boiler rated at 120,000-140,000 pounds per hour, capable of burning wood chips, integrated with a 10 megawatt extraction steam turbine capable of producing the required University’s thermal and electrical needs. The project budget is $68 million dollars with an annual net savings of up to $1,900,000 annually depending on the mix of fuel.  

The project includes capacity to provide steam to Marquette General Hospital (MGH) ( a regional, not for profit, healthcare facility) which will result in a saving in operating costs for MGH and an increase in efficiency of the Plant.  In order to provide steam to MGH, NMU would need to install a steam line from our campus to MGH.  The project cost includes a steam line extension from NMU’s campus distribution system to MGH, a distance of approximately 3,000 feet.

 As part of our due diligence we have met with potential providers of wood fiber. The initial reaction from those that we met with was very positive.  The proposed plant would be able to burn wood chips and wood byproducts of the Upper Peninsula wood products industry, for example, tree tops, sawdust, and bark.  Based on the projected operational and wood fiber needs of this plant it is estimated that the plant could create 80-100 new jobs in the wood industry. 

Besides reducing NMU’s operating costs and creating new jobs, this project reduces the dependency on foreign oil and natural gas, provides a market for small wood suppliers’ waste wood products, and benefits the environment due to the increased efficiency of producing steam and electricity by using CHP Cogeneration technology.

Architect/Engineer: HDR-Cummins and Barnard
NMU Project Manager: Bob Ryan
Project Budget: TBD
Schedule: TBD