Miami University Plant

Miami University's Steam Plant in Oxford, Ohio, is located behind Peabody Hall on Western campus, and supplies the University with all of its steam through burning coal. In October 2007 the University spent $17 million to comply with tightening emissions legislation within the EPA's Clean Air Act, such as installing scrubbers to lessen sulfur dioxide emissions.

To dispose of waste from the plant, the University has been talking to a company called N-Viro about taking fly ash from the burnt coal and mixing it with coal sludge to form a fertilizer for farmers. The EPA is currently considering whether to designate coal ash as a hazardous waste.

Students have formed the Miami University Copenhagen Committee to urge the school to transition away from coal and lessen its greenhouse gas emissions. University officials say coal is used because it is cheaper.

On April 4, 2011, Miami University President David Hodge announced the official sustainability goal of the University includes the gradual phase out of burning coal with a target sunset date of 2025.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Campus coal plants
 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * Opposition to existing coal plants
 * Coal
 * Coal and jobs
 * Coal-fired power plant capacity and generation
 * Coal phase-out
 * Coal plant conversion projects
 * Coal plants near residential areas

External resources

 * Anne C. Mulkern, "Colleges Are Battlegrounds for Coal Fight," Greenwire, October 14, 2009.
 * Campuses Beyond Coal Campaign, Sierra Club, September 2009.
 * "DOE Announces Winners of Annual University Coal Research Grants," July 7, 2005.
 * American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment