Opinion ID: 2265360
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: History of the Heating and Cooling Plant

Text: Georgetown filed an application with the BZA [2] on October 18, 1990, seeking authorization for construction of an addition to its existing steam heating and cooling plant located east of McDonough Gymnasium. Georgetown planned the construction and operation of a Cogeneration Facility to be situated on the southwest quadrant of the campus, on a site east of McDonough Gymnasium which is located in an R-3 zone. [3] A cogenerator is a relatively recent concept and has the advantage that it provides steam and electric power in the same facility. To obtain a special exception for development of property for campus purposes in an R-3 zone under the Zoning Regulations, 11 DCMR §§ 210, [4] 3108.1, a college or university must demonstrate that the proposed use is not likely to become objectionable to neighboring property because of noise, traffic, number of students, or other objectionable conditions. 11 DCMR § 210.2. [5] The BZA has in the past approved heating and cooling facilities on the Georgetown campus in order to meet the University's needs. In 1968, the BZA unanimously approved [6] the location of a heating and cooling plant on the campus and concluded that the location, design and operational characteristics were not likely to become objectionable to neighboring property. The initial power plant was designed to use either fuel oil, natural gas or a combination of the two. [7] In 1977, the BZA again approved a special exception [8] to Georgetown for the construction of an 11,998 square foot addition to that existing heating and cooling plant. [9] This addition represented the first phase of the project designed to demonstrate a cost-efficient, environmentally sound system so as to make Georgetown energy self-sufficient. The second phase of the project was later set forth in Georgetown's 1983 Campus Plan [10] which detailed its future energy goals and included the implementation of cogeneration technology. Georgetown represented this as an effort to reduce the high cost of fuel, and accomplish implementation of an innovative energy investment program to serve as a national model for other academic institutions. The 1983 Campus Plan set forth the second phase which was to develop a cogeneration system designed in cooperation with local utility interests. In 1983, the BZA accommodated the second phase of the demonstration project by approving a second addition to Georgetown's existing power plant. The 1983 BZA Order also permitted a steam turbine driven cogenerator of 2.8 megawatt capacity constituting the first Cogeneration Facility on the Georgetown campus. Because this facility could at times deliver electricity to the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO), the District of Columbia Public Service Commission (PSC) required that the Cogeneration Facility furnish electricity in accordance with a Power Purchase Agreement which was approved and reviewed by the PSC. In approving that project the BZA noted that it conformed to the national energy policy of conserving fuel, [11] and that the Cogeneration Facility's location and construction would avoid any objectionable impact on neighboring property. As part of the Power Purchase Agreement, dated January 31, 1990, and approved by the Public Service Commission, Georgetown contracted with Dominion Energy, Inc. (Dominion), an affiliate of Virginia Power (formerly VEPCO) whereby Dominion would construct and operate the proposed Cogeneration Facility on the Georgetown campus. Dominion in turn entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with PEPCO in which PEPCO would purchase 100% of the electricity generated by the proposed facility for the next twenty-five years. As part of its energy conservation goal, the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act requires PEPCO to purchase electricity from private parties who generate electricity from qualifying facilities. [12] On October 12, 1990, the BZA approved Georgetown's 1989 Bicentennial Campus Plan. [13] In so doing, the BZA approved, in concept, the proposed fifty-six megawatt Cogeneration Facility, but the BZA made clear that Georgetown must return for special exception approval of the proposed facility. Accordingly, the BZA required Georgetown to submit a separate application setting forth the design details, including capacity, and the specific impact of such a facility. In compliance with the BZA directive, Georgetown filed an application for a special exception to allow for the construction of an addition to the existing power plant in order to house the fifty-six megawatt Cogeneration Facility. After a hearing, the BZA approved Georgetown's application on July 31, 1991 applying 11 DCMR §§ 210, 3108.1, which sets forth the criteria that a University must satisfy in order to obtain a special exception. The Coalition Petitioners now challenge the BZA's grant of the special exception.