Duquesne's Energy Center, a $9.6 million refurbishing project, consolidates energy systems. The Center is a state-of-the-art, 5 MW natural gas-fired cogeneration facility that produces 23,000 pounds of steam per hour. Its cooling towers provide a total condenser water-flow capacity of 9,200 gallons per minute.

The Center provides up to 80 percent of Duquesne's electrical needs, using the thermal energy produced for most of the campus load. It saves the University approximately $750,000 annually on energy costs.

In an additional phase of the project, under an ESPC, NORESCO invested $2 million in energy-saving technologies at no up-front cost to the University. The capital improvement project includes heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and water conservation systems. Duquesne will pay for the project from the savings in energy costs, while reaping the benefits of long-term savings and physical plant improvements.