The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Air Quality (DAQ) held a public hearing last Thursday at the Chapel Hill Town Hall to receive comments on UNC's application to test a new fuel source at its cogeneration facility.
The cogeneration facility, located on W CameronAve, uses natural gas and coal to create energy.
In July 2024, the University submitted an application to the DAQ to test "engineered fuel pellets" at the coal plant, according to UNC's energy services webpage. The webpage also says that it aims to "transition away from coal while increasing the use of renewable fuels" by testing the fuel pellets.
According to the University's webpage, the pellets are created from pre-consumer paper and plastic scraps that would otherwise end up in landfills.
UNC Media Relations declined The Daily Tar Heel's request for comment about the University's permit application.
Executive Board Member of TransparUNCy, Raima Dutt, said TransparUNCy opposes the facility's use of coal.
"It turns out that if you divide the amount of coal they [the UNC cogeneration facility] burn[s], it's one ton of coal ash per UNC undergrad," Dutt said. "So obviously it's really detrimental to the environment, and they dump it in South Boston, Virginia, which is just a predominantly Black and poor population."
Although the proposal to use fuel pellets looks good on paper, Dutt said, the pellets are extremely detrimental to the environment. The fuel pellets would contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals."
According to a DAQ webpage, the permit would require UNC to perform regular sampling of the pellets for PFAS and test its boilers to determine actual PFAS emissions. Based on an analysis of the pellets, the facility would not emit more than 1.2 pounds of PFAS per year, the website currently says.