University of New Hampshire
IN-2: Innovation 2

The ECOLine Power Partnership project is part of the University's effort to provide a campus environment that is energy efficient and operates to promote a green vision of the future, including its long-term sustainability.

In partnership with Waste Management of New Hampshire, Inc., UNH launched ECOLine to pipe enriched and purified gas from Waste Management’s landfill in Rochester to the Durham campus. Coming from Waste Management’s Turnkey Recycling and Environmental Enterprise (TREE) facility in Rochester, NH, the landfill gas replaces commercial natural gas as the primary fuel in UNH’s cogeneration plant. Construction began in 2007 on the landfill gas processing plant in Rochester that purifies the gas and on the 12.7-mile underground pipeline that transports the gas from the plant to the UNH Durham campus.

The methane is the primary fuel to operate the university’s cogeneration plant, which provides electricity and heat for the main campus buildings. UNH is the first university in the country to use landfill gas as its primary fuel source. When fully operational, EcoLine will provide up to 85% of the campus energy from the landfill gas. EcoLine cost an estimated $49 million - all internally-funded - with an anticipated payback within 10 years of the project. The sale of Renewable Energy Certificates generate by EcoLine helps to finance the project as well as support campus energy efficiency projects.