State Rep. John Kowalko Questions UD Trustees On Their STAR Campus Gas Power Plant Proposal

(Susquehanna River - all images by John W. Greene)

I know that the News Journal's editorial page editor has promised to publish a Delaware Voice submission Amy Roe is preparing in response to Harry Themal's recent attack piece.

Meanwhile, John Kowalko has sent this along ~

July 28, 2013

A. Gilchrist Sparks III, Chair

University of Delaware Board of Trustees

Office of the Vice President and University Secretary

126 Hullihen Hall

Newark, DE 19716

Dear Chairman Sparks:

The purpose of this letter is to discuss the proposed computer data storage center, planned for construction at the legacy Chrysler assembly plant grounds, which was purchased by the University of Delaware, and is now known as the STAR Campus.  As you know, STAR stands for “Science, Technology, and Advanced Research.”  In addition, I will pose some questions encouraging you to prioritize the University’s STAR Campus goals.

As integral part of this data center enterprise is a proposed on-site 248 megawatt natural gas, utility-scale, turbine electrical plant.  In fact, there are domestic utility companies that use this identical size power plant for generating electricity for towns and cities.  If constructed, this facility will be substantial, and the estimated cost for the power plant, buildings, cooling systems, data center servers/electronics, etc. will exceed one billion dollars!

This power plant will likely require a Title V permit, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.  Title V permits are required for polluters, such as petroleum refineries and chemical plants.  The proponents of natural gas proclaim that these electrical generating plants emit fewer pollutants than other fossil fuels, such as coal or oil.  Although at face value this is true, even the most efficient electrical plant of this size will consume millions of cubic feet of natural gas per day, and as a consequence, will emit significant quantities of pollution, especially carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_X).  Also, cooling the servers requires large amounts of water.

“Why is this business model being considered in Newark with its high density population?”  More than 30,000 people reside in Newark, and tens of thousands are my constituents.  The proposed power plant will be surrounded by many neighborhoods, for example:  Newark proper to the north, Arbour Park to the south, Brookside to the east, and Abbotsford to the west, including McVey and West Park Place Elementary Schools and the Newark Charter School.

The construction of a Title V project on University grounds appears to conflict with the published Core Values of the STAR Campus, as described in two documents entitled “Science and Technology Campus Master Plan 2011 – Executive Summary” and “Science and Technology Campus Development Guidelines 2011” currently posted on the University website:  http://www.udel.edu/star.  On page 3 of each document is the following quote:  “Develop the campus in an environmentally responsible way through sustainable and efficient use of University buildings and natural systems.  Seek (seeking) opportunities to increase and reclaim open space and to protect the quality of the campus environment as the University of Delaware expands to meet the needs of its educational mission.”  How can a campus, with the phrases “environmentally responsible way” and “quality of the campus environment” prominently written in the core values proposition, include a utility-scale generating plant?  In addition, is it possible that the University’s “good will” toward Newark residents and students may be tarnished if this on-site electrical power plant is built? 

Delaware does not have cumulative risk assessment guidelines for pollution, so it is probable that a Title V permit will be issued for this proposed plant, even as it adds to pollutants from existing oil refinery operations, chemical plants, the I-95 corridor, etc.  Moreover, the desire to create local jobs, which is a commendable benefit of the data center project, clouds the issue of potential health problems from electrical plant emissions.  Consequently, a fervent plea to you, the Board Members and Trustees, is to carefully weigh the data center’s economic attributes versus the health risks and quality of life issues that will impact our community.  When it’s all said and done, you need to decide if this business venture is in the best interests of the University and all who study, work, and reside in Newark.  If you allow a project of this magnitude to happen, what’s next?

Having read all your bios at http://www.udel.edu/vp-sec/members_trustees.html I would respectfully ask if any of you actually live in Newark?  Do any of you have a vested interest here, such as owning a home?  Do your children attend school here or live in a dormitory at the University?  Have you ever shopped in a store on Main Street or bought a car from a dealership on Cleveland Avenue?  Not living or working here, will you ever breathe the air within city limits?  Would any of you want a power plant in your back yard?  Consequently, if most, if not all of you, answer “no” to these questions, why is it so easy for you to rubber stamp a project that you can walk away from, leaving us to contend with a 248 megawatt utility-scale generating plant in our back yard for decades?  Remember STAR sands for “Science, Technology, and Advanced Research.”  It does not stand for private electric utility.

Lastly, even though the University has spent more than $24 million to buy the Chrysler grounds and another couple million to level the factories, don’t rush too quickly to see a return on your investment.  Remember, you are the trustees of a University, not the trustees of a for-profit venture.  Eventually, an acceptable research project will walk through the door that both the University and the Newark community will be happy to see prosper.

Respectfully,

John Kowalko

State Representative

cc: University of Delaware Board of Trustees

Another aspect of concern is the amount of water needed by any kind of power plant for cooling. Can you point to any power plant that is not located on body of water? No water runs through the STAR Campus.

What water source would be tapped for a plant with a projected output of half that of the Conowingo Dam that straddles the mighty Susquehanna?

Surely not the nearby headwaters of our Christina - the tiny creek that winds behind my neighborhood home to blue heron and beaver alike?

Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant is also on the Susquehanna River....

~*~