Tucked in back of St. Rose Convent, sandwiched between the courtyard and Franciscan Skemp Healthcare, sits the power plant for St. Rose Convent. Though it might seem counterintuitive to the uninformed, this building, with its towering smokestack, operates at the center of energy conservation for the convent, Franciscan Skemp Healthcare and Viterbo University.

“A lot of people don’t realize what a jewel we have here,” says Tracey Krueger, power plant engineer. Through Combined Heat and Power (CHP) the plant converts steam into usable energy for heating domestic hot water, generating building heat, cooking and operating dryers in the laundry areas. St. Rose Convent sells excess CHP-generated steam to the nearby hospital and university.

The system has been in place since the late 1990s, and was projected to have an eight year payback period. That means the green power the power plant is generating has already paid for the cost of the system, and is now giving green a whole new meaning: money savings. As energy costs rise, the apparent benefits increase, but for the FSPA the decision to try CHP is about more than saving cash; it’s about saving the planet.

“We’re not buying as much electricity from Xcel Energy, and especially in this area, electricity generated by coal power plants,” says Tracey. “So by doing that we’re reducing our dependence on coal product, and basically increasing the efficiency of our plant by getting double use out of the energy we are supplying.” By recycling the energy, St. Rose Complex is able to produce as much as 100 percent of its electrical needs through CHP, though the total energy production varies widely. Tracey notes that steam that enters the generators at 130 pounds per square inch is used here at St. Rose, then the waste steam is sent out to Franciscan Skemp Healthcare and Viterbo at 25 pounds per square inch.

According to Tracey, because the boilers used at St. Rose utilize natural gas, emissions are minimized. Many chemicals are prevented from going into the atmosphere: 410 tons of carbon dioxide, which is linked to global warming; 4,677 pounds of sodium dioxide, which is linked to acid rain; and 4,391 pounds of nitrogen oxide—a chemical which causes smog. “By not emitting as much of this it’s the same thing as what a 128 acre forest would absorb over a year’s time.”

But there’s more than CHP at play in the boiler plant. It also houses an Energy Management System (EMS) which monitors the temperature in every room heated by the plant and serves as a control center. If a sister feels her room is too cold or too warm, workers at the boiler plant can adjust that temperature—even if that sister lives at Villa St. Joseph. But the real energy savings comes in after-hours. That’s because the EMS can be programmed to automatically drop the temperature of a room and turn off the lights in areas that are unoccupied. Workers input meeting and class times at St. Rose complex every two weeks, and the EMS takes over from there.

“We’re always looking at ways to make reliability improvements and eyeing where we can save money,” says Tracey, who estimates the EMS is 10 years old. “Most improvements we’re making are for future growth and economy—how can we save money and keep up to date with technology—and technology tends to lean toward fuel savings and cost savings.”

But even with all the systems in place for energy conservation, Tracey says there is room for improvement. A proposal is under consideration to add a steam absorber, which would reduce the need to purchase electricity in the summer—instead, using steam produced at the boiler plant to chill water and cool the buildings. That move, with the addition of a third turbine generator at the plant, would decrease the need for purchased electricity by 500 kilowatts per hour, the equivalent of energy needs for 1,000 homes. Essentially, the move would take the St. Rose complex off the grid, generating her own electricity for more than half of the year. More, in summer, the absorber would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 574 tons, sodium dioxide by 6,545 pounds, and nitrogen oxide by 878 pounds, the equivalent of what a 156 acre forest would absorb in a year. The third generator would reduce carbon dioxide by 82 tons, sodium dioxide by 935 pounds and nitrogen oxide by 878 pounds, the equivalent of what a 22 acre forest would absorb in a year. The proposed upgrades would have an estimated six-year payback.

Tracey says the big efforts—like the EMS system and CHP, and the little efforts, like motion-sensor room lights—add up to decreased dependence on the electrical utility. “We should do it. We have to be good stewards of our resources,” he says.