COGENERATION/ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM/HVAC PROJECT Cogeneration plant integrated with an Energy Management System and air conditioning upgrades for a major Southern California casino. benefit Development of a 260-kilowatt electric generating facility that also produces 75 tons of chilled water capacity and up to 1.25 million Btu of water heating. This project is also a demonstration test for a California Energy Commission Grant program subsidizing the development of a prefabricated cogeneration system. On an annual basis, the card club's energy bill will be reduced by $95,000, a savings of 25%.

5.2 MW Cogeneration Plant

challenge
Rather than being assembled on site, the cogeneration plant will be built in a factory and then simply "hooked together" upon arrival. While the concept of a prefabricated system is excellent, next>edge discovered several issues pertaining to the implementation of this package at the casino. Some components did not meet state and city code requirements. There was no provision given for controlling domestic hot water temperature or pressure. This is a critical item because of the safety issues involved with hot water used for hand washing and other applications. Turning existing equipment on and off in synchronization with the new on-site energy generating plant was also not considered by the supplier.

solution
Our turnkey approach to project implementation coupled with our recommendation of a new automation system for all existing equipment resulted in a system design that will meet the client's needs and conform to municipal specifications.

next>edge value add
In working with the equipment supplier and the grant program administrators, next>edge has developed a solution that will be code compliant, meet the needs of the site and satisfy the grant program requirements, while staying within the original project budget. next>edge was able to accomplish this by utilizing its extensive knowledge of cogeneration and automation systems, reallocating money only to areas that might truly reduce the project's effectiveness in producing energy savings.