power plant conversion
What’s On My Mind: Sustaining and scaling Vanderbilt’s environmental stewardship
Apr. 26, 2019—Earlier this week, Vanderbilt announced a long-term strategy that will shape our course, affect our daily lives and improve our collective future. We have pledged to power our campus entirely through renewable energy, and to be carbon neutral, by 2050. Better yet, we are committed to generating more renewable energy than we consume. Through the collaborative...
Universities should lead in developing solutions to global challenges, chancellor says
Nov. 19, 2015—Read the MyVU story here. Universities should be leaders in developing innovative solutions to the challenges facing our global society, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos said Nov. 16 at the annual Global Action Summit. “Our mission is to serve humanity, and to do that, we have to look at the constellation of issues that face us...
Vanderbilt power plant exhaust stack demolition is complete
May. 22, 2015—Read the MyVU story here. The Vanderbilt power plant has a dramatic new look. Demolition of the brick exhaust stack, which once stretched more than 200 feet tall, is now complete. The plant’s conversion from using both coal and natural gas to exclusively natural gas has been underway since fall 2013 and included the...
Vanderbilt celebrates the end of coal
Apr. 13, 2015—Originally published by Vanderbilt News. See a video of the event here. University leaders, students, faculty and staff gathered in the shadow of the university power plant Thursday, April 9, to celebrate Vanderbilt’s conversion from coal to natural gas for its heating, cooling and electricity needs. “Our campus is a place of energy, excitement and...
Vanderbilt Coal Free Celebration
Mar. 18, 2015—
Vanderbilt Power Plant Now Coal Free
Dec. 17, 2014—Read the Vanderbilt News article here. At 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 19, the Vanderbilt co-generation power plant burned off its last lump of coal! The plant, which produces 23 percent of Vanderbilt’s electricity, 90 percent of its heat and 40 percent of its cooling, now runs exclusively on natural gas. The decommissioning of the plant’s last...
Vanderbilt greenhouse gas emissions down 27 percent per person
Oct. 21, 2014—Read the Vanderbilt News story here. To mark Campus Sustainability Day, October 22, Vanderbilt’s Sustainability and Environmental Management Office (SEMO) has released an updated inventory of the university’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the calendar years 2005 to 2013. According to the accompanying report, GHG emissions from the campus and medical center decreased by 17...
Natural gas boilers installed at power plant
Jul. 16, 2014—[Originally posted by Vanderbilt News] (Steve Green/Vanderbilt) Two massive natural gas boilers were installed at the Vanderbilt Power Plant July 12 as part of the university’s ongoing effort to convert the co-generation facility completely to natural gas. The new boilers will provide steam to more than 5.8 million square feet of building space at the...
Vanderbilt Power Plant Conversion Highlighted in AASHE 2013 Higher Education Sustainability Review
May. 7, 2014—The Vanderbilt power plant’s natural gas conversion was highlighted as a high-impact energy initiative in the 2013 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)’s Higher Education Sustainability Review, released April 15, 2014. Vanderbilt was profiled by AASHE because of the announcement in spring 2013 that the University planned to convert the coal-fueled...
In Class and Across Campus, Vanderbilt Helps Future Generations Find Relief for an Overstressed Planet
Mar. 18, 2014—[Originally published in Vanderbilt Magazine] Written by Joanne Lamphere Beckham From corporate boardrooms to statehouse chambers to the halls of academe, sustainability is one of this century’s biggest challenges. Although defined in many ways, sustainability is generally understood as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet...