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Gore Cogeneration Facility

Gore Cogeneration Facility

Located near the intersection of West Cameron Avenue and Merritt Mill Road, the so-called Cogen Facility is the fourth power plant at UNC—Chapel Hill, completed in 1992. The plant, which is coal powered, provides about 20 percent of campus electricity needs, including the hospitals. It also generates steam as a by-product, which is used for heating and other uses, thus the term "cogeneration." While the facility is recognized as efficient and clean for this type of energy production, it is responsible for 50 percent of the greenhouse gases that the university emits every year. The university is in the process of modifying it to also use natural gas, which will reduce coal burning, and instituting further measures to reduce emission and improve air quality.

The facility is named in memory of professor Joshua W. Gore, who came to UNC in 1882 to teach physics and engineering and lead the School of Mines, which became the Department of Applied Science. Gore installed the first electrical systems on campus in 1890 and helped design and build the first telephone system. He also helped design the first power plant in 1895, which he oversaw until his death in 1908.


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