OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is starting to put waste to good use. The school is converting food waste into a heat source.
Banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds – things you’d typically find in a kitchen, but at UWO they just may be things to keep you warm at night.
The biodigester at UWO has been running for over ten years, without being used to its full capacity. The university hopes to change that soon.
“What we are going to do with the project is basically allow for a better connection to channel heat from the engine or the CHP unit, and then funnel that heat energy into the building, which is right next door,” said sustainability director at UWO Brad Spanbauer.
Food waste – the stuff we eat every day – will soon be turned into a renewable energy resource for the large Oshkosh campus.
“We collect food waste university, from businesses within the community. That food waste goes into the cells, which are really like large cement rooms, and then those are closed up, and they take all the oxygen out of them, and then that food is broken down,” Spanbauer explained. “All that waste is broken down over about 28 days, and then what is produced is what is called biogas.”
UWO officials say, by using the biodigester to heat the campus, it’ll save the university about $25,000 a year.
“It’s important for a lot of reasons, you know, we have a commitment for being climate neutral by 2030, and so this will allow us to reduce our scope on emissions, or emissions associated with heating, so we can produce the heat for that building for a renewable source versus using something like fossil fuels or natural gas,” said Spanbauer.
The project will initially provide heat for the campus services facility.
This project is funded with a $339,000 grant from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
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