"While burning the pellets would reduce greenhouse gases from the university’s physical plant, it would increase harmful levels of nitrogen oxides, lead, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds."
"CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — On a Friday afternoon in mid-January, college students hugged themselves as they lumbered through the University of North Carolina campus. Temperatures teetered just above freezing. Snow would soon skitter in from the west.
A half-mile from campus on West Cameron Avenue and overlooking two historically black neighborhoods, several drab apartment complexes and quaint 1920s homes converted to rentals, the UNC power plant labored to keep the campus buildings and dorms warm.
Since 1992, the plant has operated as a cogeneration facility, burning coal and natural gas to create electricity. Cogeneration also captures the resulting heat, which can be used for energy, improving the plant’s efficiency and decreasing the amount of fuel it burns.
But now, five years past its self-imposed deadline to phase out coal, UNC is trying to wean itself from one of the main drivers of climate change. Instead, the university is asking state environmental regulators for permission to burn up to 22,000 tons of pellets composed of paper and plastic over the next year—and possibly beyond."
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