POTSDAM – SUNY Potsdam’s new combined heat and power plant will save the college nearly $500,000 annually, increase efficiency by 30 percent and is capable of providing power for most of the campus.

SUNY Potsdam marked the opening of the college's $8 million combined heat and power plant in a ceremony Monday, in a fitting lead-up to Earth Day.

The cogeneration facility can generate electricity and produce steam from waste heat, increasing the college's efficiency from 45 to 75 percent for its heating and power plants. The combined heat and power plant is the largest campus-owned and campus-run facility of its kind in the SUNY system.

“This cogeneration facility both reduces the college's energy use and shrinks our carbon footprint by nearly one third," said Interim President Dr. Dennis L. Hefner.

The project will reduce SUNY Potsdam's energy use and shrink its carbon footprint, with the capability of providing between 70 and 100 percent of the college's electrical power requirements.

SUNY Potsdam has been studying the construction of a cogeneration facility since 1995, and finally obtained funding for the project in 2005, when it was sponsored by then-state Assemblymember Darrel Aubertine.

"I am so pleased to be here with you to see this state-of-the-art combined heat and power plant today. I believe this is something that other campuses will be looking at as a model in the future," said Aubertine, who is now the special assistant for external affairs for the New York State Comptroller.

The $8 million plant was completed in March 2014, and the plant is now on line, following the completion of an extensive interconnect study and agreement with National Grid.

"This new facility places SUNY Potsdam among the nation's top colleges and universities in terms of significantly reducing our carbon footprint. It also provides us with the opportunity to lead by example, showing students how making investments in smarter infrastructure can both help the environment and reduce bottom line costs."

Assistant Vice President for Facilities Tony Ditullio and Energy Manager Thomas Smith led tours of the plant, and answered questions about cogeneration technology. In keeping with the sustainable theme of the event, campus officials then gathered to cut a green recycled ribbon to officially celebrate the opening of the combined heat and power plant.

For more information about sustainability at SUNY Potsdam, visit www.potsdam.edu/about/sustainability.