History of UW's Power Plant
The evolution of the University of Washington's energy system
Since the very beginning, the University of Washington's Seattle campus has used an on-campus plant to help power campus. The technology and needs have changed over time, and today the UW is embarking on a project to modernize the plant and move away from fossil fuels. Learn more about how we have powered our campus over the years.
The early years of the UW campus saw three different power houses constructed.
1895 Power House
When the first university buildings were constructed on what is now the Seattle campus, a power plant was built in 1895 to supply them with heat and electricity. That first "power house" was built near what was then the shore of Lake Washington. The 1897 UW General Catalogue said, "The University has its own steam heat and pumping plant, in which can be installed all electrical and other mechanical apparatus as required. This plant provides an independent water supply, and the system of distribution affords plenty of pure water." The building was demolished in 1916.
1901 Power Plant
Just six years later, the University had outgrown the original plant and a larger power plant was built where the Allen Library stands today. This building later became the home of the School of Mines, and then burned down in late 1920’s.
This plant used coal to fire a boiler to produce steam for campus. Documentation of these early plants is limited, but evidence suggests that the tunnel system which carries heat from the plant to buildings on campus was started when the 1901 plant was built. The Mid Campus Tunnel, as it’s now called, runs at a diagonal across campus and intersects the location of the 1901 plant and supplies steam to two of the oldest buildings: Denny and Parrington. It is considerably smaller and shallower than the tunnels that followed it.
1908 Power Plant
After another seven years, the power plant was moved out of the 1901 building to make way for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The new plant that was built in 1908 was on the site of the existing central UW power plant, although nothing remains of the original building other than the imprint of the roof created during a later renovation.
Imprint of original roof line
The 1908 plant initially heated the growing campus with two 250-horsepower, coal-fired boilers. Each also powered a reciprocating steam engine that turned a belt-driven generator to produce electricity.
The early years of the UW campus saw three different power houses constructed. The 1908 site has remained the location of the UW's central power plant to the present day.
This 1927 aerial view of campus shows the power plant. See the smoke stack in the center-right part of the image, above the football stadium bowl.
In this 1949 image, the campus has grown and the power plant (upper right in the image) has expanded.
1957 photo showing the Burke and Daniel Gilman Railway running alongside the power plant
During the first half of the 20th century, larger boilers were installed in the plant. The new boilers ran on pulverized coal, so the plant installed a rooftop system for storing the coal and feeding it to the burners.
The coal for the power plant was delivered on the Thomas Burke and Daniel Gilman’s SLS&E Railway.
The railway, including the spur to deliver coal to the plant, can be seen on the 1972 campus map, shown below with an overlay of the current map.
The use of coal caused air pollution from the smoke. As environmental awareness grew, the plant began a conversion in 1956 toward particulate-free natural gas, using coal only for backup.
In the late 1970’s the rail line was removed and the route paved to create the Burke-Gilman pedestrian and bicycle trail. Coal continued to be delivered to campus in trucks and stored in a pile where Fluke Hall is currently located.
In 1988 the switch to natural gas was fully complete and coal was phased out.
Through the 1940s and 1950s, the power plant grew and tunnels were added under campus to deliver steam to additional buildings for heating.
Currently nearly eight miles of utility tunnels serve the buildings on the 643-acre main UW campus. In addition to heating and cooling, the tunnels also carry electrical lines, communication lines and network cables.
The Power Plant has gone through several major transitions in its more than 100 years of its existence. Now, it's poised for another. The University of Washington is preparing for a major energy transformation project , which will move the plant away from natural gas and creating steam, instead using electrical heat pumps to provide hot water to campus buildings. The hot water will still provide heating needs for buildings, while allowing for efficiency gains and moving the campus to utilizing 100% clean energy rather than fossil fuels.
Learn more about the UW's Energy Transformation strategy at sustainability.uw.edu/energy-transformation .
Contact sustainability@uw.edu to learn about opportunities for students and faculty to engage with this effort, or contact David Woodson, the executive director of Campus Energy, Utilities and Operations, who is leading much of the effort, at dwoodson@uw.edu .
