Al6—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, December 27,1980 Pennsylvania Power & Light Co’s Montour Steam Electric Station has been helping to produce pom settias as well as generating electricity during the past few months The pomsettias were grown in an experimental greenhouse near the power plant, about 10 miles north of Danville in Montour County The greenhouse is owned and operated by Kenneth G Bryfogle of Bryfogle’s Inc A crop of 20,000 pomsettias was harvested recently in time to brighten the holiday season What makes the greenhouse unusual in the method used for heating the 2 75-acre structure A sophisticated system is used to extract waste heat from the plant and carry it to warm the 120,000-square-foot greenhouse. HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS The production of elec tricity results in large amounts of waste heat being rejected through the cooling system of a generating station. This waste heat is normally vented to the at mosphere at the Montour plant, explained Dr. Heinz G. Pfeiffer, PP&L’s manager-Technology & Energy Assessment. The cooperative floriculture research project is making use of this discharge heat at its Mon tour plant, saving a significant amount of fuel oil which is traditionally used for heating greenhouses in northeastern Pennsylvania. A 20-mch diameter W. Ray Crawford, an employee at Pennsylvania Power jght Co.'s Montour Steam Electric Station, examines a control value that is part of the sophisticated heating system used at the experimental greenhouse. Waste heat from the plant is transferred to the greenhouse through an underground pipeline. Poinsettia project in operation pipeline, buried three feet underground, transfers warm condenser-cooling water from the plant to the greenhouse The system uses 7;000 feet of piping to establish a “loop” to supply the warm water to the greenhouse and return it to the power plant Inside the greenhouse, 3A inch diameter plastic pipes are embedded in gravel just beneath the porous concrete floor The pipes, spaced about a foot apart, would total almost 24 miles if placed end-to-end The warm water flows from the supply pipelines to the pipes beneath the greenhouse floor When the water reaches the greenhouse, it is between 95 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit The water heats the greenhouse floor to about 70 F KEY TO RESEARCH PROJECT This unique warm-water floor-heating system is the key component of the research project, Pfeiffer said. The system was designed at Rutgers University engineering research laboratories and constructed by Bryfogle. “The project is designed to demonstrate how energy can be saved by tapping heat that has been previously wasted The experiment has great potential in helping PP&L and its customers find practical and cost-effective ways of conserving fossil fuels,” Pfeiffer said PP&L has long been in terested in using this waste heat and has in the past A crop of 20,000 poinsettias await shipment from the experimental greenhouse near Pennsylvania Power & Light Co.’s Montour Steam Electric engaged in other research projects designed to utilize power plant waste heat, according to Pfeiffer The potential for using waste heat at the Montour plant is promising. The greenhouse heating system, which is now in full operation, is using less than 1 percent of the waste heat from the Montour plant CONSTRUCTION SCHED ULE Construction of the Montour greenhouse began in mid-June. It was in ser vice, using power plant waste heat, five-and-a-half months after construction started. The poinsettias were started from clippings last January in Bryfogle’s greenhouse in Muncy (Lycoming County) The plants were transferred to the Montour greenhouse in October, when they were 11 Stauffer Diesel Inc. DIESEL g GENERATOR CLEARANCE (1) FIL-210,1 cyl, 14 HP @2400,200 lbs #523 Rebuilt 12 V starters fuel tank No gen Bare flywheel 6mo written warranty (1) FIL-310, 1 cyl. BHP @2300 245 lbs #537 Rebuilt Starter S generator SAE flywheel S housing, muffler instrument panel 6 mo written warranty (1) Rebuilt new model FIL-2100,1 cyl. 12 HP @2400, 200 lbs #B7l 12V starter, alt. fuel tank, SAE flywheel S housing, muffler 5 instruments (1) New FIL-511,1 cyl. 15 HP @2400, 215 lbs #892 Handstart SAE heavy flywheel S housing,muffler S mtg feet (1) New FIL-511,1 cyl, 15 HP @2400, 245 lbs #744 12V starter S alt, SAE flywheel S housing, muffler S mtg feet