Courtesy Veolia Energy North America.
The Veolia Energy central cooling facility at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nev.
holistic view of a facility. It requires diligent
on-site management of HVAC systems,
process chilling equipment, backup generation, electrical distribution systems,
and interior and exterior lighting. It also
requires performing preventive, predic-tive and corrective maintenance to ensure
that equipment remains in pristine condition and operates at peak effectiveness.
The company takes responsibility for
these functions around the world, so we
have seen every operating environment
possible and are able to leverage best
practices that have been developed in the
field for the benefit of our customers.
In terms of the process of managing
a customer building, a given opportunity
may begin with a comprehensive energy
audit. Our energy auditors have rigorous
in-house training, and most hold a variety
of certifications – from professional engineer to registered architect to certified
energy manager and LEED® (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design)
accredited professional. Our auditors
measure and recommend energy usage
improvements in a variety of building
areas, from lighting to heating to cooling.
Not only do these audits help customers
gain a better understanding of their buildings and facilities, but they allow us to
integrate our district energy, combined
heat and power, and facility operations
and management services to develop a
custom solution that addresses any sub-optimal performance areas highlighted
through these audits.
Our solutions also encompass general
building maintenance services such as
plumbing, carpentry, filter replacement,
etc., so that building owners can focus
on the business functions that generate
their earnings – secure in the knowledge
that their buildings are receiving high-quality services with lower operating costs.
Q. How many of your district energy
systems currently utilize CHP? What is
the future of CHP in the U.S., and how
does that compare to how you’ve seen
CHP develop in Europe?
A. We manage more than 4,900 MW of
power production capacity from CHP
around the world. With 800 urban and
local district energy systems, 4,200 industrial facilities, and more than 110,000
energy facilities managed globally, CHP is
definitely a sweet spot for us.
Here in the U.S., most of our district
energy systems utilize either cogeneration or trigeneration technology. Most
significantly, in Philadelphia, we own and
operate the Grays Ferry cogeneration
station, which is a 170 MW CHP facility
with a 120 MW combustion turbine and a
50 MW extraction and condensing steam
turbine. We also own and operate a number of other smaller CHP systems. Two
examples of U.S. CHP assets that we operate, but do not own, are a plant dedicated to the corporate campus of a leading
biotech company in Cambridge, Mass.,
and a plant installed in a large building
in Manhattan.
CHP undoubtedly has a huge future
in the U.S. marketplace, given that it is
known, practical technology. In Northern
and Eastern Europe, CHP plays a large
role in energy production because it is
utilized in combination with district
heating systems. While we do not foresee
the large-scale adoption of new district
energy systems in the U.S. to the same
degree as in Europe, we do believe that
there is a bright future for CHP in this
country.
With the pressures for higher effi-
Courtesy Veolia Energy North America.
Veolia Energy personnel provide on-site O&M services at the cogeneration plant of a biotechnology
customer in Cambridge, Mass.
