An article written by Jeff Bollier appeared in the March 2, 2010 Oshkosh Northwestern about UW-Oshkosh’s plans to build a biogas plant that is “the first of its kind in the United States.” This is exciting news both for the renewable energy community and the university, which plans to use the plant as a “living, learning laboratory for students, faculty, staff, the community and others,” according to the UWO Vice Chancellor Tom Sonnleitner.
UWO to develop first-of-its-kind biodigester in U.S. to create heat, electricity
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh plans to turn grass clippings and food scraps into heat and electricity in a new plant they say will be the first of its kind in the United States.
The dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester will be built this spring on Dempsey Trail, behind the university’s Campus Service Center. It will be able to convert 6,000 tons of yard and food waste per year to 400 kilowatts of energy — enough to cover 5 percent of the campus’ electricity and heating needs.
“This will be a chance for UWO to establish a living, learning laboratory for students, faculty, staff, the community and others,” UWO Vice Chancellor Tom Sonnleitner told the Oshkosh Plan Commission last month. The Oshkosh Common Council approved a conditional use permit to operate the plant last week.
The biodigester uses dry materials instead of smelly manure or sewage to generate gas that can be captured and burned to provide heat or converted into electricity to power university buildings. The food scraps will likely come from UWO operations while grass clippings and yard waste will be transported from the city’s drop-off site near the central garage off Witzel Avenue.
The material will be placed in the building and deprived of oxygen. Microorganisms will then break down the material through a series of processes that produce methane.
Plan Commissioner John Hinz called the project a “perfect storm.”
“It will help the city get rid of yard waste. It doesn’t cost the city. And the fact it’s the first in the country means it will be a destination stop,” Hinz said. “I think there will be some hidden, positive economic impacts to this project.”
Some people who have reviewed the plan believe it will create an odor worse than the city’s nearby wastewater treatment plant, but UWO Director of Sustainability Michael Lizotte said air filters on the building will absorb odors before it is vented outside. Also, since the material is broken down in a dry process, the biodigester will not create any wastewater that would need to be treated.
In fact, the university has been in talks with Oshkosh City Manager Mark Rohloff about tapping into residual methane produced by the wastewater plant across the street to increase the plant’s energy output. The university has agreed to reimburse the city for $12,000 in engineering consulting costs to study the possibility.
The $2 million plant has secured some funding assistance already.
The federal government has given UWO a $500,000 grant and the state’s energy efficiency program, Focus on Energy, has provided a $232,587 grant.
—Jeff Bollier: (920) 426-6688 or jbollier@thenorthwestern.com.
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