Ohio University transitions from coal to natural gas fuel

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio University officials say the campus nestled in the state’s coal-mining country will transition from coal to natural gas fuel by the end of the year.

The school still uses coal-fired boilers to generate steam to heat and cool campus buildings, but a $5.5 million project to build a pipeline carrying natural gas to the university’s power plant is underway, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Columbia Gas of Ohio will build, own and operate the 5,200-foot pipeline. Construction is expected to be completed in the fall.

About 30 student demonstrators and an anti-fracking group protested at the pipeline’s site last month, advocating for renewable energy at the school in Athens.

University officials said natural gas is a “bridge fuel” for the eventual transition to renewable energy sources.