Sen. Nelson visits CSC on energy tour

Nelson and members of this staff toured the facility with Chadron State College President Dr. Janie Park, members of the media, and others who were interested in the unique system. Dale Grant, CSC vice president for finance and administration, led the group.

 

Nelson said CSC's system serves as an excellent example of what can be done to combat the energy crisis and should be brought to everyone's attention. Park told the senator that interest in the facility increases along with rising fuel prices, while noting a variety of other "green" projects the college is working on.

 

The CSC boilers, which both heat and cool the campus, are fueled by refuse from thinning and logging operations in the nearby Pine Ridge National Forest. During the past year, the college has burned chips made from trees that were killed in fires.

 

"This is one area of alternative fuels that's available," Nelson said. "And, it's here and now taking pressure off fossil fuels."

 

Grant said the boiler at CSC saves the college about $365,000 per year, which amounts to about 50 percent of its heating budget. The college heats its 21 major buildings with the system.

 

The boiler plant was completed in the summer of 1991. The initial cost of the facility was $1 million, most of which was awarded by the State of Nebraska after it received an oil overcharge refund from the Exxon Corp.

 

A $1.4 million absorption chiller was added to the facility in 2005. That feature has allowed the college to cool the campus by burning wood chips year-around. Eight buildings have been connected to the cooling system and more are being added each year.

 

Although the system requires round-the-clock staffing, CSC officials say the benefits far exceed the cost. Grant said not only is the wood-fueled system more economical than those that require other sources, it also is better for the environment. The chips are made from material that would otherwise be considered waste, and the system must meet strict pollution control requirements to pass Environmental Protection Agency standards.

 

Nelson said he also was impressed that the system generates almost $1 million to the local economy each year.

 

Chadron State's facility was chosen by the senator as one of eight stops on his "statewide energy tour." During the tour, he is promoting energy legislation that he will introduce as part of the U.S. Senate's Gang of 10 - the group of five Democrats and five Republicans who work to craft successful legislation. The group's New Energy Reform Act of 2008 would transition the United States' vehicles from running mostly on gasoline to use more fuels from renewable sources. It also calls for more conservation, consumer tax credits and "responsible" new domestic oil drilling that the senator said could decrease the price at the pump in a relatively short period of time.

 

Other stops on Nelson's tour are Ainsworth, Hastings, Lincoln, Omaha, South Sioux City, Trenton and Mead.