NEWS


$27m CHP plant for Baystate, Springfield, MA


Baystate Medical Center will be able to operate for 30-days off the electrical grid once its new, $27- million CHP plant is fully- completed by December 2017. “We will be able to operate as an island,” said Sean Gouvin, director of facilities planning and engineering for Baystate Health. Baystate’s existing power plant dates back to the 1930s. Baystate is the region’s largest employer, its only Level I trauma center, only Level III neonatal intensive care unit and only cardiac intervention center. Baystate CEO Dr. Mark Keroack comments|: “We need to keep the lights on 24/7, and this plant is going to do that,” Keroack said. Currently, the hospital can last only 4 days off the grid. U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said: “The project is not only about safety and security but it also speaks to America’s changing energy economy. The natural gas boom from the shale lands of the Appalachians is making the United States more energy independent and it is providing a bridge from oil to the renewable sources of energy in the future.” The gas-fired plant is being paid for in part with in part by a $5 million resiliency grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and by a $2.8 million grant from the Department of Energy Resources. Eversource contributed $5 million to the project and Baystate Health is investing $14.4 million. The health care giant estimated it will see a $2.7 million in annual cost savings from the new plant. It has a 4.6-megawatt generator- that’s enough power for about 4,600 average suburban homes.


Duke Energy is behind a new US$55m CHP scheme for NC


Duke Energy will own, build and operate a 21-megawatt facility based on the campus of Duke University in Durham, N.C. The project will cost around US $55m and will lower carbon emissions for the university by about 25%. The plant will use the waste heat from generating electric- ity to produce thermal energy and steam needed for the university, making it one of the most efficient generating assets in the Duke Energy generation fleet. The electric power would be put back on the Duke Energy electric grid to serve the university and nearby customers. "This project will provide a cleaner and more diverse energy mix for the community and provide the value of thermal energy for the university," commented David Fountain, Duke Energy North Carolina president. "The innovative approach provides multiple benefits to a large customer like Duke University and is a cost-effective generation asset for Duke Energy and our customers in North Carolina."


Massachusetts CHP plant comes fully online


A new CHP plant located in Massachusetts has just com- pleted operational testing and come online, the project’s developer has reported. The 4,000-hour testing phase for the plant at the Erving Paper Mill in the town of Erving included transition- ing to island mode multiple times in response to grid power disruptions. The


Waldron Engineering & Construction, which designed


and built the project on a fast- track basis, said the system is primarily fuelled with com- pressed natural gas, with two alternate backup fuels. The scope of work involved


EPC contractor


installation of a new CHP unit and building adjacent to the Mill’s existing steam plant. Included were a Solar Turbines Taurus 60 dual-fuel combustion turbine with a duct-fired, 600-psig heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), connection to the Mill’s existing compressed natural gas delivery system, a synthetic natural gas (propane + air) mixing system for secondary fuel to the duct burner, a revised 13.8 kV


electrical interconnection with new switchgear, a black start generator and upgrades to the existing utility systems. The project was undertaken in order to improve the Mill’s reliability, increase its energy efficiency and reduce its over- all energy spend. The CHP plant now provides the bulk of its power and all steam for paper-making, Waldron said.


ComRent International is marketing a new rack-mounted loadbank


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omRent International, a global leader in load bank solutions for testing and commissioning mission-critical power generating equipment,is currently marketing the Precision 18kW, a new rack-mounted load bank with a unique resistor design, remote control, load transfer capabilities and additional innovative features for testing data center facilities. A company spokesman commented: “The Precisionis has been designed to be the most comprehensive, safe and flexible data center commissioning load bank on the market today.” The Precision features expanded capabilities including remote control and monitoring up to 100 load banks from a single remote,a patented load transfer from primary to redundant power feeds methodology and hardware and a patented delta/wye configurable switch for two operating modes. “The future of data center load bank commissioning is improving thermal and mechanical operations, and at the heart of ComRent’s Precision is a unique and innovative resistor design that positively reduces airflow requirements,” comments Doug May, ComRent president and CEO. “The Precision is truly a no-compromise approach to thermal and mechanical validation that was well received during product trials.” Additional Precision 18kWfeatures and benefits include: • Reduced installation time with built-in guide pins and locking mechanism, minimizing


preparation work, installation time and labor. • The patent-pending passive airflow baffle eliminates unwanted mixing of hot and cold air between aisles when the unit is off, providing stable aisle temperatures during commissioning. • The temperature feedback loop allows commissioners to select desired output temperature and the Precision will configure the system’s fan speed and/or load to reach desired goals.


All Precision 18kW Load Banks have been extensively tested by Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide. As a company, ComRent International offers technology and energy customers the most comprehensive load bank and service solution to interconnect systems faster, stay on time and budget and reduce risk. Through ComRent’s 15 global locations, 3,210-unit fleet and over 90 miles of cable, customers receive load banks faster and can confidently rely on ComRent’s exceptional service and industry knowledge to do testing right the first time. Fortune 50 data centers, electrical utilities, solar and wind developers, and oil and gas companies rely on ComRent to fulfill their testing and commissioning requirements.


capable of producing roughly 75,000 pounds per hour of steam, which would be sold to Duke University for heating water among other things. The CHP facility would be connected to an existing Duke Energy substation located on the campus, which serves the university and its medical center as well as other customers. "This partnership will provide value for Duke University and will accelerate our progress towards climate neutrality," said Duke University's executive vice president Tallman Trask III. "By combining steam and electricity generation systems, we can increase efficiency and reduce our overall consumption by millions of units of energy each year, and have a positive effect on the community at large." By displacing the current electricity mix and boilers currently serving the university, the project would lower energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. In the future, the project could also be used to isolate the critical loads on the campus, providing a method to increase reliability to hospitals and clinics as additional grid back up. Duke Energy Carolinas will file with the NCUC for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the project. If approved, the project – around $55 million – is expected to come online in 2018.


NOVEMBER 2016 AMERICAN POWER NEWS In addition to 21 megawatts of power, the facility would be


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