Real
Estate Department
ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell University Real Estate
has acquired the rights for a major new natural gas
pipeline. The new delivery line, 8-inches in diameter
and just over three miles in length, will run east from the
central heating plant on the southern edge of Cornell's main
campus. The line will enable Cornell's new combined heat and
power project, announced in January 2006. This new project
will reduce the university's use of coal. And, combined with
other efficiency and conservation efforts already in place
on campus, it will allow Cornell to meet its goal to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions consistent with the Kyoto Protocol.
The new plant operations, expected to start in the fall of 2009 employing state-of-the-art gas-turbine technology, will decrease Cornell's overall greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 percent, while delivering the necessary heat and electric capacity for the university's future activities.
In order to provide enough fuel for the planned project, an underground gas delivery line will be installed to connect the university's central heating plant with the interstate gas pipeline in the Ellis Hollow area. New York State Electric and Gas Co. is unable to provide adequate pressure and flow for the project through its existing natural gas distribution system. The connection with the interstate pipeline will be made on Cornell property, west of Genung Road, near the intersection with Ellis Hollow Road.
"The chosen route follows an existing utility corridor for approximately two-thirds of the route," says Edward Wilson, manager of Cornell's central heating plant. "This route will minimize disturbance to vegetation and will run almost entirely on Cornell property."
The gas delivery line will have to be approved and will be regulated by the New York State Public Service Commission. Neighborhood outreach and public meetings will be part of the process. Construction is planned for the summer of 2008, pending regulatory approvals.