Top-tier trigen power for an eco-conscious university

Supply:

• Cummins C1100N6C natural gas-powered generator set
• Waste heat boiler system
• Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system
• Switchgear

Rider University is a highly regarded private university in New Jersey committed to driving energy sustainability across its sites. Its campus is located in Lawrence Township, and extends across 280 acres of colleges, academic buildings, and green spaces.

As part of its ‘green’ initiatives, Rider gave the go-ahead to building  an on-campus trigeneration plant which would help decrease its reliance on the utility grid, lower energy bills, and potentially reduce its carbon footprint. 

To achieve these goals, Rider turned to Cummins Integrated Gas Business (IGB), which specializes in delivering natural gas-powered generators for continuous prime power and combined heat and power (CHP) applications as part of environmentally conscious power solutions. Cummins IGB stepped up: designing and installing a new trigen plant to generate electricity and 
usable heat for Rider’s needs.

Core components are a Cummins C1100N6C 1100 kW lean-burn natural gas generator, together with a waste heat boiler, switchgear, and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. The new system is connected to the campus electrical grid to offset utility power across the site. 

The plant is housed inside a building specially designed for the job, with architectural and environmental criteria playing key roles in the design. Rider wanted the unit to resemble its wider campus architecture rather than a conventional utility facility, so the building was given a smart, weatherboard-style exterior. Its location within Rider’s dormitory zone also made noise reduction a priority. Cummins responded by integrating a sound-attenuated enclosure rated to 85 dBA/70 dBA at 23 feet (7 meters).

“Rider University wanted a trigen system to generate electricity, heat, and cooling to cut its costs and optimize efficiency. We’re proud to meet the university’s operational needs, and also help it shrink its carbon footprint as part of its broader green commitments.”

Philip B Khul

Senior Gas Sales Executive
Cummins Integrated Gas Business

The reliable, energy-efficient system supplies around 25% of the power Rider’s campus consumes: using natural gas to generate electricity, steam for heating buildings in winter, and hot water, which is converted into chilled water, for summer cooling. As a result, Rider is less reliant on the grid, allowing it to capture significant cost savings of more than $500,000 annually. The plant also produces lower greenhouse gases per unit of energy than equivalent off-campus generation, thus resulting in reduced sulfur emissions.

Cummins’ input into the Rider plant is ongoing, with the Cummins distributor in nearby Bristol, Pennsylvania, providing full preventive and emergency maintenance support to ensure the highest possible uptimes.