Have you ever wondered how such a huge and densely populated area like the University of Connecticut’s Storrs campus is powered? The answer is the UConn Central Utility Plant.
According to the Cogeneration Plant website, the plant — with a current maximum output of 24.9 megawatts — generates electricity, heating and cooling by burning natural gas. The website also explains that the university uses its own plant instead of power from the grid because of its 62% “Husky Power efficiency” and its ability to harness 80% of the fuel energy as opposed to the 33% from a conventional electric power plant. However, the plant still releases climate-altering carbon dioxide emissions, conflicting with UConn’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.
To reduce carbon emissions and create a more sustainable energy plant, the university has made the decision to install hydrogen turbines that will wean the Cogeneration plant off burning natural gas and onto burning hydrogen instead.
The installation of new hydrogen-capable turbines will allow the plant to run on natural gas, hydrogen or a blend of both, potentially cutting carbon emissions by 30%, as reported by UConn Today. Burning hydrogen produces mostly steam instead of carbon dioxide, which can be reused to power a secondary turbine and improve overall efficiency.
According to Alex Stachowiak, associate director of utilities infrastructure at UConn, the transition will happen gradually.
“It’s not like we’re going to wake up tomorrow, and everything will be on hydrogen,” he said. “It’s gradual expansion.”
Stachowiak explained that hydrogen was chosen over other renewables because it is the most practical and least costly path forward.
“Solar panels take up a very large footprint of land to produce a feasible amount of power, and solar panels are not producing power 100% of the time,” he said.
Since turbines were already in use at the Cogeneration Plant, “the structure and everything around the turbines stays the same, the heat recovery units off the turbines and everything that’s been there for 20 years all stays the same,” which costs less compared to other solutions. Additionally, Stachowiak stated that the new hydrogen-capable engines “produce a higher horsepower which in turn is also giving us more power production.”
UConn is also incorporating solid oxide fuel cells, capable of running on hydrogen, natural gas or ammonia. In a June 2024 press release, FuelCell Energy announced that UConn would deploy four 250-kilowatt solid-oxide fuel cells — capable of operating on 100% hydrogen, natural gas or blends — delivering a total of one megawatt of generation capability. The company noted the system will “move closer to our goal of carbon neutrality without compromising the needs of our partners and centers” at UConn’s Storrs campus. As stated in UConn Today, this addition supports the university’s focus on fuel flexibility, allowing the system to operate with whichever fuel source is more available and produces fewer carbon emissions.
On safety, Stachowiak acknowledged that hydrogen poses new challenges but emphasized that “safety is number one.” He said the university will carefully assess “physical and environmental safety” measures once a clear path for storage or piping is determined.
Students will also play a role in this transition. Stachowiak declared the maintenance of an open-door policy at the Cogeneration Plant, encouraging students to “come to the Cogen plant any time to come walk and talk and look at stuff and come up with ideas and see what we’re doing.”
Currently, installation is underway in phases with the third turbine expected in May 2026.
“A lot of times students think that a lot of us in the background aren’t doing anything to change, because the change is so slow, but there is a lot in the background that happens that we implement and try to get these projects going,” Stachowiak said.