District Energy - 2008 Third Quarter

water capacity by 40,000 tons without using power from the local grid.

The TECO CHP system will reduce local emissions of carbon dioxide by 82,907 metric tons of carbon equivalent per year – equal to removing the carbon that would be absorbed by 82,907 acres of forest or removing the carbon emissions of 51,817 cars. The CHP system is designed to meet all the requirements of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates the enforcement of local air-quality standards.

TECO’s master plan also called for significant growth of the company’s chilled-water operations. This was in response to the plans projections that the Texas Medical Center’s chilled-water load would increase by 30,400 tons over the next five years; 38,300 tons over the next six to 10 years; and 12,400 tons over the next 11 to 15 years.

Implementation Launched

Once TECO’s master plan and its recommendations were complete, TECO then contracted with Burns & McDonnell to review the plan and provide input from an implementation perspective. During this review period TECO decided to make the following revisions to the master plan:

Install two 45 MW CHP units, one in
future, instead of three 30 MW units
Install one chilled-water storage tank,
vs. two, on the central plant site, and
install the second future tank off site

In July 2007, TECO received final board approval adopting the master plan and funding to proceed with the initial implementation projects totaling $367 million. The five-year implementation phase was then launched. TECO selected Jacobs Carter Burgess as the owner’s engineer for design build contracts and engineer of record for design/bid contracts. Burns & McDonnell was selected as the design/build firm.

The new thermal storage system, which will enhance chilled-water pro-duction economics, is already under construction and is scheduled to come online in June 2009. The new chiller facility, designed to hold ten 80,000-ton chillers, will be constructed on the former site of the Texas Medical Center Hospital Laundry Cooperative Association building, which was demolished in 2007. The

first 32,000 tons of the new facility’s capacity are projected to be operational in early 2011.

The initial phase also will include expansion of the distribution system including installation of a 42-inch chilled-water loop on the west side and a 60-inch water loop to the south, with all distribution-related work totaling approximately $50 million.

The full implementation of TECO’s master plan will result in a total of 90- 100 MW of gas turbine power generation; 3-6 MW of back-pressure steam turbine power generation; 80,000 tons of chilled-water generation; additional steam capacity; and 150,000 ton-hr of thermal energy storage. The master plan provides emergency chilled-water generation capacity for 60 percent of TECO’s peak load.

The mission of TECO is to provide economical and reliable thermal services to highly critical institutions in the Texas Medical Center. Supported by the expertise of Jacobs Carter Burgess, TECO will be able to expand as needed to keep pace with the service needs of the medical center institutions and to operate one of the largest and most up-to-date thermal systems in the world. More important, TECO will be saving its customers money, at a time when cost containment is imperative in the healthcare field.

Stephen K. Swinson, PE, is president and chief executive officer of Thermal Energy Corp. Swinson has more than 20 years’ experience in the district energy industry, including positions at Trigen Energy Corp. and Auburn University. He served as IDEA’s chair from 1996 to 1998. A licensed professional engineer, Swinson is a graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering, Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management with an MBA. He may be reached at sswinson@ teco.tmc.edu.

William Lynn Crawford, PE, is a program manager for Jacobs with more than 35 years of experience as a facility manager, a design/build contractor and a consulting engineer. He is a graduate of The University of Houston with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering and is a licensed professional engineer. Crawford specializes in large energy projects. He may be reached at lynn.crawford@jacobs.com.

STAY IN IT FOR THE LONGER RUN.

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