The state Board of Regents approved the University of Iowa’s project plans for a new power plant and boiler at a meeting Tuesday.

The plant would be located on the west side of campus, and the systems would run on natural gas.

The project also outlines plans for a proposed chilled-water system that would be connected to the Boyd Law School.

The natural-gas burners would cost $5.5 million, and the chilled-water system is projected to cost $3.1 million.

UI officials said the project is an effort to reduce dependency on a single fuel supply. The unit will operate entirely on coal or natural gas and co-fire natural gas with either coal or biomass.

The current system on the west campus is a coal-fired boiler, installed in 1975.

— by Asmaa Elkurti