The University of California Regents’ Finance and Capital Strategies Committee on a motion approved design and CEQA review for a multistage campus utility improvement project that will build a new central plant and a thermal energy storage tank to provide hot water and chilled water for buildings on the campus’ eastern side.
The project team said the work is intended to accelerate campus decarbonization and to replace an aging cogeneration and steam system that has experienced reliability problems. "We are here to present and hopefully get approval for design and CEQA," Mark Fisher said.
The project’s Phase 1 calls for a new central plant sized to serve the campus as later phases are implemented, a thermal energy storage tank, and conversion of buildings currently using steam to hot‑water systems. Project supporters said the storage and distribution network will allow increased chilled‑water capacity for air conditioning to respond to hotter summers.
University presenters thanked the state for a major financing contribution. The presentation said the state provides an estimated $16,000,000 a year in debt‑service support to help finance the project.
Regents approved the item during the committee meeting. The action authorizes the design work and CEQA review so the campus can proceed to the next project phase and schedule construction once design and environmental clearance are complete.
Next steps identified in the presentation include advancing design documents, completing CEQA review, and preparing for construction under a multistage implementation plan. The project team said the new plant would be sized for future campus phases but did not provide a firm overall project completion date.