FAIRBANKS—The University of Alaska Board of Regents plans to consider scaled-down plans for a new power plant this week that would trim about $50 million from the total cost, allowing the project to move forward within a $248 million budget, most of that from borrowed money.
The Legislature approved plans for the coal-fired power plant in 2014, before detailed engineering work was complete. When cost estimates came in at close to $300 million, university officials called for a second look to see how to meet the early estimate.
Under the new, scaled-back plan, instead of two boilers, each with a capacity of 140,000 pounds per hour of steam, there would be a single boiler with a capacity of 240,000 pounds per hour of steam. The steam turbine size would be reduced as well.
In addition to a 25 percent reduction in the overall footprint of the building, other money-saving changes include a delay in the construction of a 500-foot utilidor connection, the deletion of proposed new office space and a parts warehouse, and a reduction in the level of redundancy in electrical infrastructure.
The project is critical to the future of the Fairbanks campus, UAF officials have said, because much of the old plant has been in service for more than 50 years and is at risk of a "catastrophic failure." The coal-fired plant supplies both heat and light to the campus and a shutdown in winter would put all campus buildings at risk.
The old power plant would remain in place, along with two boilers that can burn oil or gas, but the old coal boilers, installed in 1964, would be removed.
The regents are meeting Wednesday through Friday in Fairbanks.
Of the total cost, about $157.5 million is from revenue bonds, to be paid back with university income at a cost of about $10 million a year. The balance of about $87.5 million for the plant is from state appropriations. Part of the repayment plan is from a $2-per-credit fee instituted this year at UAF, a step recommended by the Legislature.
The completion date for the power plant has been pushed back five months to November 2018. The lead engineering firm is Stanley Consultants of Denver, with Shannon & Wilson and Design Alaska as major consultants. Contracts for the boilers and steam turbine have already been signed, UAF said, for a total cost of $44 million.
The new plant would be able to burn 85 percent coal and 15 percent wood in the future. It can also be retrofitted to burn natural gas, if it becomes available. As a source for power plant fuel, oil at $3.50 a gallon is about six times more expensive than coal on a per-BTU basis, a university analysis says.