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Thursday, March 16, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 11 By Ray Martin For the Chronicle Waterloo Region's plan to make three major wastewater treatment plants more energy efficient has come a step closer to fruition. On March 9, the region held its second pub- lic consultation meeting as part of the ongoing renewable energy approval (REA) process for the project that involves installing co-genera- tion facilities at its Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo plants. Those facilities will take bio- gas produced as a byproduct at the sewage treatment plants and convert it into heat and electricity which will be used at the wastewater facilities to cut their operating costs. Project engineer Pam Law explained that the largest of the trio has already been complet- ed in Kitchener and region staff is now working on creating biogas conversion facilities in Cam- bridge (Galt) and Waterloo. Thursday's meeting concerned the changes proposed at the Galt Waste Water Treatment Plant, where a small building will be added to the facility to house a methane-burning engine that will generate about 3,500 MWh a year --about the same amount of electric- ity used by 350 homes per year -- reducing the electrical consumption at the plant by 40 per cent. "The capital cost of the project is estimated to be $5.5 million, but the net savings are going to be over $4.2 million," said Law. Regional officials say the payback period for the project will be about 11 years. Staff plans to finalize its report and sub- mit its REA application to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in April. It is anticipated the application will be approved in the fall. Work would then start on the detailed designs, which would take about a year to com- plete. The project would go to tender in the spring of 2018 and construction would be com- pleted in the early summer of 2020. More information on the project can be found at www.regionofwaterloo.ca/wastewater under "master plans and projects." Biogas project one step closer Renison University College hires new academic dean After a long hiring process, Renison Univer- sity College has hired Prof. Kofi Campbell as its new academic dean. Campbell is currently associate professor of English, Brantford Campus of Wilfrid Laurier University. He currently serves there as associ- ate dean in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, and as director of the Master of Arts in Cultural Analy- sis and Social Theory program. As part of his leadership for the master of arts, Campbell spearheaded the transition from a single-campus to a multi-campus interdisci- plinary graduate program. His work in postco- lonial theory and interdisciplinarity combined with his considerable administrative experi- ence have prepared him as a leader perfectly suited to the current needs of Renison. This experience includes offering leadership in cur- riculum development, student academic sup- port, student recruitment, and long-range pro- gram planning with a multi-disciplinary focus, as well as his work coordinating the Laurier Brantford English program, and his service as chair of many committees and councils.