An Interesting Meeting on Co - Generation in New York City
I had the opportunity to attend a very informative meeting this past Thursday evening in New York City dealing with the use of Co - Generation. Sponsored by the New York Chapter of USGBC and the newly formed NYC ASHRAE Sustainability Committee, four separate presentations were made.
First, some background on just what Co - Generation is. Co - Generation, often referred to as Combined Heat and Power, (CHP) or Co-Gen, generates electricity and steam on-site at the building by the use of burning natural gas to make steam, which in turn, powers turbines that make electricity for the building to use. At the same time, especially in the summer, steam is also needed in these buildings to produce air conditioning via the use of absorption chillers. This steam is also used by the buildings in winter for heating to various degrees, as well. Thus, instead of wasting this steam during the production of electricity, which can amount to as much as two-thirds of the thermal heat produced, as is done in conventional electrical generation plants, this thermal energy is utilized in the buildings to meet their steam needs. In addition, the electricity produced on site at these buildings take that much more off of the grid load demand.
James Van Nostrand, Executive Director of Pace Energy and Climate Center mentioned that there are substantial reductions in green house gas products with co -generation. He also pointed out the benefits of de-centralization of the power supply network, possibly aiding to prevent large-scale rolling black-outs similar to the the 2003 multi-state event. He feels that up to 3700 Mega Watts are possible in the Con Edison service area, as well as the advantage of less transmission and distribution loss of power. It must pointed out that others in the audience agreed that while the potential exists for this effect to be realized, more study into the electrical engineering aspects of properly isolating these buildings and prioritorizing their internal circuit loads is essential for true success. It was pointed out that during the 2003 black-out, none of the very few Co-Gen plants in use succeeded in this effort.
The second presentation by Clark Wieman, Director of Planning at Cooper Union detailed their Co -Gen project that is being incorporated into their massive re-building of their landmark campus in lower Manhattan. The Co-Gen will be in addition to eliminating one of their three campus buildings and upgrading the HVAC and building shells of the two remaining buildings. His work shows that Co-Gen will save 42 percent of electrical usage V. S. baseline usage, and reduce green house gases by 30 percent.
Sukanya Chandrasekar, the Energy and Sustainability Program Director at Vornado Realty Trust and Tom Smith, President and CEO of Endurant Energy presented their work on One Penn Plaza, a large office building in the area of Madison Square Garden, in Midtown Manhattan. They showed, that while Co-Gen can be used in many building types to various degrees of effectiveness, it performs best in large office buildings. Their case with One Penn Plaza is expected to shave 50 percent of the peak on time electrical usage from the grid during the summer for electric and a 20 to 30 percent reduction of steam usage from Con Edison, V. S. conventional electrical and steam systems. These figures are for the peak daytime summer period, which is of utmost value, as electric demand is highest in NYC during this period, and the grid is being stressed to the maximum. The One Penn Plaza system will produce 6.2 MW that will mean 20 to 25 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year They also mention the involvement of NYSERDA, the State of New York and Federal Government support in terms of grants and tax credits for these projects as further incentives.
In summary, Co-Gen has a significant future in green sustainable buildings, especially large office buildings. While they require additional natural gas consumption, they offer significant savings on total energy consumption and emit far less green house gases, when compared to conventional electrical and steam systems. The fact that this Co - Generation takes place during peak usage hours (e.g. 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM) makes this application even more beneficial to the power grid, while offering even more financial savings, as electricity is at the highest price, during the peak usage period.
First, some background on just what Co - Generation is. Co - Generation, often referred to as Combined Heat and Power, (CHP) or Co-Gen, generates electricity and steam on-site at the building by the use of burning natural gas to make steam, which in turn, powers turbines that make electricity for the building to use. At the same time, especially in the summer, steam is also needed in these buildings to produce air conditioning via the use of absorption chillers. This steam is also used by the buildings in winter for heating to various degrees, as well. Thus, instead of wasting this steam during the production of electricity, which can amount to as much as two-thirds of the thermal heat produced, as is done in conventional electrical generation plants, this thermal energy is utilized in the buildings to meet their steam needs. In addition, the electricity produced on site at these buildings take that much more off of the grid load demand.
James Van Nostrand, Executive Director of Pace Energy and Climate Center mentioned that there are substantial reductions in green house gas products with co -generation. He also pointed out the benefits of de-centralization of the power supply network, possibly aiding to prevent large-scale rolling black-outs similar to the the 2003 multi-state event. He feels that up to 3700 Mega Watts are possible in the Con Edison service area, as well as the advantage of less transmission and distribution loss of power. It must pointed out that others in the audience agreed that while the potential exists for this effect to be realized, more study into the electrical engineering aspects of properly isolating these buildings and prioritorizing their internal circuit loads is essential for true success. It was pointed out that during the 2003 black-out, none of the very few Co-Gen plants in use succeeded in this effort.
The second presentation by Clark Wieman, Director of Planning at Cooper Union detailed their Co -Gen project that is being incorporated into their massive re-building of their landmark campus in lower Manhattan. The Co-Gen will be in addition to eliminating one of their three campus buildings and upgrading the HVAC and building shells of the two remaining buildings. His work shows that Co-Gen will save 42 percent of electrical usage V. S. baseline usage, and reduce green house gases by 30 percent.
Sukanya Chandrasekar, the Energy and Sustainability Program Director at Vornado Realty Trust and Tom Smith, President and CEO of Endurant Energy presented their work on One Penn Plaza, a large office building in the area of Madison Square Garden, in Midtown Manhattan. They showed, that while Co-Gen can be used in many building types to various degrees of effectiveness, it performs best in large office buildings. Their case with One Penn Plaza is expected to shave 50 percent of the peak on time electrical usage from the grid during the summer for electric and a 20 to 30 percent reduction of steam usage from Con Edison, V. S. conventional electrical and steam systems. These figures are for the peak daytime summer period, which is of utmost value, as electric demand is highest in NYC during this period, and the grid is being stressed to the maximum. The One Penn Plaza system will produce 6.2 MW that will mean 20 to 25 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year They also mention the involvement of NYSERDA, the State of New York and Federal Government support in terms of grants and tax credits for these projects as further incentives.
In summary, Co-Gen has a significant future in green sustainable buildings, especially large office buildings. While they require additional natural gas consumption, they offer significant savings on total energy consumption and emit far less green house gases, when compared to conventional electrical and steam systems. The fact that this Co - Generation takes place during peak usage hours (e.g. 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM) makes this application even more beneficial to the power grid, while offering even more financial savings, as electricity is at the highest price, during the peak usage period.
Posted by Alan L. Englander at 1/10/2009 5:22 PM 
Categories: Cogeneration, Peak Time Load Reduction, Electricity and Steam Savings
Categories: Cogeneration, Peak Time Load Reduction, Electricity and Steam Savings
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