Students, professors and administrators debate plant’s policies

While many students may not even know of the coal plant between Sarratt Student Center and Branscomb Quad, administrators, professors and students debate whether the economic benefits of the plant outweigh its environmental harms.

The plant uses a combination of natural gas and coal to produce enough steam to generate heat and electricity for the campus, said Vice Chancellor for Plant Operations Mark Petty.

The plant’s presence on campus is controversial because the use of coal leads to carbon dioxide, mercury, nitrous oxide, sulfur and particulate matter emissions.

Petty defended the plant’s existence, saying that the plant fully complies with all Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

“Because we are a non-utility but a commercial entity, we are at a higher level of air standards,” he said.

“We have a higher EPA standard than the state level. The EPA can come anytime they want and test, and we submit annual test data on emissions, fuel sampling and waste sampling.”

However, students such as Erin Feeney, co-founder of , see the plant as an affront to environmental responsibility.

“It’s a symbol of Vanderbilt’s lack of concern for the environment,” she said. “It can be taken that way. This is a highly consumptive university, and we have told the university what should be of concern.”

Beyond the environmental impact, some of the plant’s emissions may cause public health problems. Many people suspect that they help cause global warming, smog, acid rain and various diseases.

“Particulate matter is a huge pollution problem,” said Jonathan Gilligan, senior lecturer on Atmospheric Science and Science Policy. “Over 65,000 people die from diseases of particulate matter each year.”

However, Gilligan said that while our coal plant does not contribute to this particular problem, it may play a role in the increase in global warming.

“Our coal plant takes measures to make sure that they are better than the regular standards,” he said.

“They take coal low in mercury and filter the smoke, but it does produce a lot of carbon dioxide. On its own, it is not something you notice, but collectively with other coal plants, it will present a huge global warming problem.”

Nevertheless, Gilligan said he sees some tough obstacles on the road to energy efficiency.

“Natural gas is better to burn, but doubly as expensive,” he said. “Environmental protection is more expensive, and coal is cheap. Our coal plant is better than most power plants and runs a lot more efficiently, but the collective effort of cutting down coal usage would be enormous.”

Not everyone is convinced that the coal plant is detrimental to the environment and the Vanderbilt community, however.

Angelina Cione, a graduate student who tested water samples at the plant three summers ago, points out its economic benefit and believes that the plant is a great resource for the community.

“Most people don’t know where electricity comes from in general, and it’s great that we have the plant on campus,” she said. “They are very innovative with creating efficient production of electricity. The plant has saved a lot of money for Vanderbilt.”

Nevertheless, Cione said that she did not see the best environmental protection measures taken at the plant.

“They’re not going above and beyond,” she said.

For instance, Cione said that fuel cells were looked into during her work at the plant, but they were never implemented.

Likewise, Feeney believes that the plant should continue to look into greener options, such as fuel cells.

“Other big institutions are investing in these things,” she said. “Harvard, Oberlin, Duke, all the UC schools have big green initiatives. There are definitely proven detrimental impacts of using coal. Vanderbilt should promote energy efficiency.”