Less height and a building built with stone and brick pleased Charleston residents, who got their first look at the proposed Renewable Energy Center design Wednesday night at Charleston Carnegie Public Library.

President Bill Perry presented the redesign with modifications that were suggested at public meetings in January.

The Renewable Energy Center will be built near the intersection of 18th Street and Edgar Drive.

“In redoing the design, we had to make sure the project fit within the parameters we need for the financing of the project,” Perry said. “So that was a constraint that we dealt with, and I think you will see that we dealt with it very well indeed.”

Some concerns brought up at the January meetings included the silo being too tall, the installation of a bucket elevator, sound control, spillage from security lighting and propane storage.

Other suggestions included moving the project further back off 18th Street and using brick and glass for the building, since residents said the facility would be located on the edge of campus.

Placing the entrance for truck traffic on Edgar Drive instead of 18th Street was another request.

With the redesign, storage of the plant matter for the biomass gasifier would be located in two silos behind the building and would not exceed the height of the building.

Perry said the bucket elevator would be eliminated, there would be mature landscaping, and the facility would be moved back 25 feet off 18th Street.

“We moved it back to be located as close to campus as possible without interfering with some draining issues,” he said.

The propane backup to the facility was removed from the plans.

“Our third backup would be fuel oil instead of liquid propane,” Perry said.

With the biomass creating the steam to heat and cool the university, natural gas would be used as the backup. Fuel oil would be used in case both malfunction.

In the design, the smoke stacks from the natural gas backup are not higher than the slanted roof.

The roof would obstruct the stack from the biomass gasifier as well, and if a second gasifier were feasible for the construction, the facility would be stretched out, Perry said.

If the second gasifier could not be added on right away, a metal wall would be constructed at the end; so it would not be as costly to add on the second gasifier in the future, he said.

Gary Reed, director of Facilities, Planning and Management, said there would be a marginal increase in the amount of woodchips needed for two gasifiers.

“One boiler will serve 94 percent of our steam load; two would serve 100 percent,” Reed said. “So, it’s like 6 percent more.”

The university previously announced four to five semi-trailers would deliver woodchips to the plant daily.

An entrance off Edgar drive would be completed for the trucks, but there would be an entrance off 18th Street for employees, Perry said.

Some residents who spoke at the meeting seemed pleased with the new design, including Andy Trueblood, a Charleston resident in the Fields subdivision.

“It’s a thousand percent improvement,” he said.

Trueblood said the view he would see from his residence would be the same as the design drawing that was displayed at the meeting.

“It’s going to be a wonderful view with the block and the brick,” he said. “I’m very impressed with this whole design. The first design was not good. I was glad they talked to us about it and got our input.”

Losing value on his home was a concern.

“Our house is only five years old,” Trueblood said. “We were concerned about property values going down, but we don’t look for that to be so much now with this being redesigned correctly.”

If constructed, the center will replace the steam plant, which is operating on 1928 technology. Construction of the center was announced in November, but the administration retracted the announcement, citing the economy as a reason not to proceed with construction.

The administration is waiting on Senate Bill 2009 in the General Assembly to begin construction on the facility.

The bill would amend the Public University Energy Conservation Act, allowing Eastern to construct the facility without going through the Capital Development Board.

Perry said the bill would allow the university to build a plant as a pilot project.

Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations, said the Capital Development Board would still provide oversight for the day-to-day management of the construction.

The bill has yet to be voted on by a full Senate. It would also have to be approved by the Illinois House and signed by Gov. Pat Quinn.

The university would have to sell bonds to fund the $40 million project.

Perry said the university would pay the bonds back through money saved from the projects.

“Our consistent point with the General Assembly is we’re not asking the state for any money,” Perry said. “We’re not asking our students for a fee. All we are asking is for permission to do this project.”

The university would then have to enter an agreement with a contractor to guarantee the amount of energy savings.

“With the energy savings, we have a guarantee to pay back the debts, so it seems like a great win-win situation,” Nielsen said.

Perry said it was not known when the administration would go to the Board of Trustees with a proposal, but a 30-day notice would be sent to area residents.

Matt Hopf can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].