UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

UI proposes $75M west-side power plant

Jeff Charis-Carlson
jcharisc@press-citizen.com

Learning from the 2008 flood and in anticipation of campus growth, University of Iowa officials hope to construct a new steam production power plant on the west side of campus within the next four years.

“It is a 100-year view of utility support for the campus,” Rod Lehnertz, UI’s interim senior vice president, said Tuesday.

UI is asking the Iowa state Board of Regents for permission to begin the planning phase for a new, $75 million steam production plant. It would be built adjacent to the new UI Hospitals and Clinics backup power facility being constructed on the north side of the Finkbine Commuter Lot.

Lehnertz said the construction likely would take two years. The plan is for the facility to be operational within four years because that timeline fits the remaining life span for the two temporary boilers that have been in use on the west campus since the flood of 2008.

All steam service for the UIHC complex and all facilities on the west side of campus currently rely on the UI’s Main Power Plant, located along Burlington Street at the Iowa River, which was built in 1929.

“It’s effective and has worked well,” Lehnertz said, “but it’s landlocked,” built-out and offers limited long-term growth or modernization options.

Moreover, the main plant’s operations are subject to flooding on the Iowa River.

Maintaining a constant source of steam production is important across campus, Lehnertz said, but especially for UIHC and its research endeavors.

Although the new facility would be fueled by natural gas, the proposed building site allows options for biofuel sources via an adjacent rail line.

“It’s about keeping the options open,” Lehnertz said. “Natural gas is a good product. It’s one we use at the main plant. But we are expanding opportunities to increase biofuels on campus.” The location for the new plant “affords us not only the most effective way to save costs, it also gives us options should the price of one fuel source begin to skyrocket.”

UI estimates that the proposed facility initially will be capable of delivering 150,000 pounds per hour of steam and could be expanded to up to 300,000 pounds per hour without altering the building’s footprint, according to regents documents. The main power plant, in contrast, produces 480,000 pounds per hour, documents state.

The facility also could provide backup electrical generation in the event of a MidAmerican Energy Co. power failure.

Constructing the facility would require upgrading and extending the existing west campus utilities distribution systems, documents state. The facility would be connected to a nearby electrical substation through new electrical duct banks. Natural gas and sanitary sewer lines would connect it to existing regional distribution lines located along Melrose Avenue, according to regents documents.

The facility would be paid for through utility system revenue bonds that typically are taken out for a 20- to 25-year period. The west campus temporary boilers would be demolished upon completion of the project, according to regents documents.

The regents will discuss UI’s proposal during the board’s March 11 meeting in Iowa City.

Reach Jeff Charis-Carlson at 319-330-3321 or jcharisc@press-citizen.com. Follow him at @JeffCharis.