MEDIA ADVISORY
Officials will showcase a new microturbine Nov. 17 that heats and provides electricity for the swimming pool at the University of Colorado at 麻豆影院 Student Recreation Center, while saving the university about $10,000 per year in energy costs.
Invited guests and members of the media will gather at 1 p.m. in the main lobby of the Student Recreation Center for an overview of the 30 kilowatt Capstone Microturbine. The event is not open to the public.
The microturbine -- the first of its kind on the CU-麻豆影院 campus and one of only a few in Colorado -- was installed in the summer of 2004, came online in October and is expected to provide 200,000 kilowatt hours of power annually. It uses natural gas to generate electricity for the pool pumps and its 530-degree-Farenheit exhaust is used to heat the water.
"Microturbine technology is an efficient, compact, ultra-low-emission way to produce electricity and heat for combined applications," said CU-麻豆影院 energy conservation officer Moe Tabrizi. "CU is committed to conservation and reducing energy costs campus-wide, and the microturbine helps us accomplish that."
High-pressure natural gas powers the system's turbine engine. The engine has only one moving part, a shaft with a turbine wheel on one end, a permanent magnet generator on the other and an air compressor wheel in the middle.
The microturbine will be used to familiarize engineering students with distributed power generation, according to Tabrizi. CU-麻豆影院 was chosen to receive the microturbine because of the university's ability to expose students and the public to an emerging energy technology.
"The retrofit installation demonstrates the feasibility of how emerging energy technologies like microturbines can work in synchronization with existing systems, while boosting energy efficiency and savings," Tabrizi said.
The electricity and heat provided by the microturbine were previously generated by the university's Power House, which continues to provide electricity to the Recreation Center and other facilities on campus.
The microturbine installation was implemented on campus by CU-麻豆影院's Facilities Management department, the University of Colorado Student Union and Recreation Services. The Colorado Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation donated the equipment and helped cover installation costs. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. and Capstone Microturbine also supported the project.
"As energy costs increase, it is important to utilize the most efficient technologies," said OEMC executive director Rick Grice. "OEMC is proud to provide Coloradoans an opportunity to see how well these technologies can work in real applications."
For more information about microturbine technology, visit or . For more information about the briefing, contact Moe Tabrizi at (303) 492-1425, Megan Castle at (303) 894-2383, or Mike Liguori at the CU-麻豆影院 News Services Office at (303) 492-3117.