 | |
Cogeneration and energy conservation measures make the differenceThe University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, MA, is among the most respected health care facilities in the New England region. Co-located on site with the medical center, the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass Medical) is also recognized for its world-class research facilities and the high caliber of its educational curriculum.
Founded in the early 1970s, this almost three-decade-old institution faced problems due to its aging and inefficient energy systems. Through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Performance Contracting program, NORESCO was selected to conduct a comprehensive energy audit and identify major energy conservation measures and infrastructure improvements to help UMass Medical meet its goals.
The $30 million project is expected to save UMass Medical $36 million in utility and operating costs over the next 10 years while improving power and system infrastructure reliability.
The most significant energy conservation measure NORESCO implemented was re-powering UMass Medical's existing steam cogeneration topping-cycle power plant to a full cogenerating facility. The 25-year-old plant was designed to generate 5-Megawatts (MW) of electricity in parallel with the local electric utility, significantly reducing UMass Medical's costs during periods of high electric demand.
The plant has black-start capability and can also operate isolated from the grid, if necessary, to provide emergency power for the hospital in case of a utility power failure. The infrastructure upgrade project gives UMass the ability to generate up to 10,000 kW-more than enough power to operate both the hospital and the Medical School.
The new cogeneration system will be 43% more fuel efficient than the original steam turbine system, and the university estimates it will be able to generate electricity for about half the cost of purchased electricity.
As part of the infrastructure upgrade project, a 3900 square foot addition was built onto the existing power plant to make room for the added equipment.
To improve the efficiency and capacity of the steam plant, NORESCO optimized the cycle using three steam pressures, installing two new dual-fuel boilers designed to generate high-pressure (1100 psig and 850ºF) steam to power a new 5000-kW back-pressure steam turbine.
To minimize emissions, the new boiler system was equipped with a state-of-the-art low nitrogen oxide (NOx) burner system with combustion controls and flue-gas recirculation technology designed to meet emissions guidelines, an important objective for UMass Medical.
NORESCO also installed a boiler plant master control (BPMC) system to oversee operation of all turbine generator sets and bypass valves, including maintaining high- and low-pressure steam headers at proper pressures.
The system was designed to reduce operating and repair costs related to pressure problems as well as reducing the amount of employee time required to monitor the systems. The BPMC system will work in conjunction with the individual control system on the boilers, turbines, and chillers. The chart below details the energy and infrastructure improvements undertaken at UMass Medical.
Customer Comments
"Our inflexible need to provide highly reliable power, distributed steam heating and chilled water to a diverse campus such as UMass Medical, required us to take a good hard look at our aging and inefficient energy infrastructure. We are expanding our campus and our services at a time when energy is in increased demand and market pricing is volatile. NORESCO's balanced and innovative energy solutions have allowed us to reduce our energy consumption across the campus and ensure improved power reliability 365 days of the year."
- University of Massachusetts Medical Center Director of Facilities Management, Tim Fitzpatrick
Click here to view the full PDF.
|
 |
|
|
