Big innovation at a small campus heating plant

Integrating CHP enabled Adelphi University to strategically address environmental, financial and other goals. Robert Shipley, Assistant Vice President, Facilities Management, Adelphi University; Marc Couture, Higher Education Project Development Manager, Ecosystem; and Max Lamirande, Senior Project Development Engineer, Ecosystem

Courtesy Adelphi University.

Panoramic view, Adelphi University district heating plant.

niversities are often at the forefront It serves almost 8,000 students at its of technological advancement and beautiful main campus in Garden City, cultural shifts. is one nestled in a quiet residential area and Uof today’s most urgent challenges, neighboring private golf course. The and again, universities are leading the entire campus comprises 28 buildings charge. Some campuses are already ahead across 75 acres. of the curve in this and can inspire others. The fundamental goal of Adelphi’s One example is Adelphi University in Gar- latest plant renovation was to replace two den City, N.Y. An early investor in energy World War II-era boilers and a 40-year-old conservation and sustainability, Adelphi unit that supplied the campus district has long purchased 100 percent green heating network. However, as Adelphi’s power, harnessed solar energy and devel- facilities team considered different oped geothermal systems to provide heat- approaches, including a simple boiler ing and cooling to some of its buildings. replacement, it also aimed to address Energy efficiency is also a priority other campus needs: for the university’s hot water heating sys- ··correct deficient air flow rates and tem, which currently supplies 16 campus operational issues in the science labs buildings from a central plant located accommodate the future energy ·· Courtesy Adelphi University. 30 ft below Woodruff Hall. Built in the needs of new buildings, including a 1920s, this plant has been renovated over LEED-certified building added to the Adelphi’s central plant is located in the the decades – most recently in 2016, with campus and fed by the CHP system sub-basement of Woodruff Hall. a project that replaced aging boilers and during the project boosted efficiency with the installation of ··improve campus resiliency partnered with Ecosystem to design and a 1.99 MW combined heat and power unit. ··maintain campus aesthetics by con- deliver the central plant upgrade. This solution was strategically trolling the potential “sprawl” and designed to help the institution achieve increased noise levels of added build- PROJECT DESIGN not only its efficiency objectives but all ings – key to allowing Adelphi to pre- When considering its options, Adel- its targeted sustainability and business serve its learning and living environ- phi’s facilities department chose to inte- outcomes, now and into the future. With ment grate self-generation via CHP as a strat- its new reciprocating CHP ··avoid increasing greenhouse gas emis- egy for meeting all of its design drivers. plant, Adelphi has cut electric consump- sions For the Adelphi community, one of the tion, increased resiliency and reduced its ··continue leadership in sustainability great benefits of self-generation would environmental footprint, while generating ··balance asset renewal needs with the be the ability to run the campus under positive cash flow for future infrastruc- ability to budget for more cutting- emergency conditions if there were no ture spending. edge, innovative projects incoming utility power. The importance By 2013, Adelphi had begun of uninterrupted power had become MEETING CAMPUS NEEDS researching options for meeting these clear after Superstorm Sandy shut down Adelphi University is Long Island’s needs, including the possibility of add- the Adelphi campus for 36 hours. Today, oldest private coeducational university. ing . In 2015, the university equipped with CHP combined with

© 2020 International District Energy Association. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. District Energy | Winter 2020 33 standby diesel generators on critical CHP enclosure with a heat rejection coil INSTALLATION CHALLENGES buildings, university facilities can main- and supply and return fans to aid with All decisions about equipment size tain 100 percent operability. heat rejection in the confined, under- and design had to account not only The sizing of the CHP plant was a ground plant space. The project design for campus expansion plans, changing critical step in the design process to prioritizes supplying the heating district energy usage and resiliency needs but ensure peak performance and maximum network by using heat recovery, initially also the physical limitations of the plant financial yield. Ecosystem developed a from CHP (free heat) and complemented space itself. Bordering the private golf thorough analysis of the campus elec- by the new boilers. club, Woodruff Hall – the building hous- trical and thermal load, optimizing the Since September 2016 – after more ing the boilers – is also constrained in size to maximize revenue while ensuring than three years of operation – the CHP terms of noise and footprint. As a school the highest utilization factor. To perform system has operated on average with an where 50 percent of students commute this exercise, Ecosystem had to balance overall utilization factor greater than to and from classes, Adelphi guards every implementation costs with projected 75 percent, indicating a well-utilized available parking space – an issue that monetary savings generated by CHP. asset. This efficient new CHP system, became a potential stumbling block when Size was also optimized based on with its high energy-utilization rate, has the design team searched for ways to the incentive programs available from the also helped to lower emissions. interconnect the CHP plant with the local New York State Energy Research Devel- utility’s (PSEG Long Island) infrastructure. opment Authority (more on those incen- MINIMIZED PARASITIC LOADS, Situated a significant distance from the tives below). At the time of the project MAXIMIZED EFFICIENCY main electric entrance, the new CHP unit’s implementation, incentives were most The increase in con- connection required extensive negotiation favorable for system sizes up to 2 MW sumption resulting from installation of with PSEG Long Island to avoid trenching and decreased substantially beyond that CHP accounts for 1.5 percent to 3.5 per- across the center of campus. point. The baseload-sized system still cent of the power generation, which is It was imperative for Adelphi to hide provided the level of on-site generation below the 6 percent to 7 percent seen the CHP plant to fulfill its goal of preserv- required to allow the campus to main- on a typical CHP design. ing the scenic character of the campus. tain continuity of operations in the case This is the result of two innovative Therefore, from the start, it was clear that of another lengthy such as heat dissipation/recovery strategies: the CHP unit needed to be installed inside had occurred during Superstorm Sandy. 1. Along with 5,000 cfm of required the boiler room. The challenge was that The new, optimized district heating combustion air, an additional 35,000 accessing the boiler room 30 ft below plant (fig. 1) includes the 1.99 MW CHP cfm is required to properly cool the ground was complex. Given that most pre- unit and four new 180-HP near-condens- CHP electronic components. Variable- packaged CHP solutions just could not be ing hot water boilers. Combined with speed drives were installed to allow delivered in this tight room, Ecosystem had three existing boilers installed in 2003 modulation of the fans. During winter to custom-design many CHP components – left in place during the 2016 upgrade months when the cooling air is colder, to ensure that the 1.99 MW unit and seven – the four new boilers bring total cam- the fan speed can be reduced for an boilers ranging from 50 to 180 HP (the pus hot water production capacity to equivalent heat dissipation. four largest ones being new), and all the 26.1 MMBtu/hr. A special variable-flow 2. When the hot water produced by the piping, pumps, plumbing components and air-handling unit was designed for the CHP jacket cooling system is not air-handling unit would fit in a compact recovered for heating, a cooling space of 60 ft by 38 ft. Installation had device, such as a dry cooler, is typi- to be accomplished without affecting the FIGURE 1. Diagram of Adelphi University’s new cally installed with CHP packages. This campus district heating capability. district heating plant. equipment is an energy gobbler and The Adelphi boiler room, originally quite noisy. Because of the nearby built in 1928, had been through three golf course, the CHP jacket cooling renovations since construction, and obso- system had to be optimized to reduce lete piping and ducts were taking up a lot both the noise level and parasitic of room. Eliminating everything that was load. Rather than using the usual no longer useful – including the two enor- dry cooler, coils to reject heat were mous boilers dating back to World War II installed in the CHP’s air exhaust sys- – restored useful space. tem, taking advantage of the air flow To accommodate all the equipment, a to ventilate the electronic components mezzanine was constructed to add square of the CHP plant. Aside from a slight footage (fig. 2). pressure differential increase, this had Installing the generating unit 30 ft Hot water heating system supply and return little impact on the fan power require- below ground was made more difficult by Cogenerated ment and kept the noise and parasitic the narrow width of the shaft created Source: Ecosystem. load to a minimum. for access to the boiler room. To bring

34 District Energy | Winter 2020 © 2020 International District Energy Association. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. equipment in, the concrete ceiling had benefited from a $2.46 million incentive 2016, Adelphi’s CHP plant has not only to be demolished, and new beams were from the New York State Energy Research run at 75 percent efficiency, significantly installed to change the shape of the and Development Authority (NYSERDA), exceeding the requirements for the entryway and provide additional support an amount also guaranteed by Ecosys- NYSERDA incentives, but it has also to the structure. At 12 ft by 17 ft, the shaft tem. The project received a $100,000 resulted in a 40 percent decrease in the was just large enough to allow the CHP bonus incentive from NYSERDA in the university’s electric bill. The new CHP unit to be lowered into the boiler room first performance year because the CHP plant’s efficiency drastically reduces with inches to spare. efficiency requirement (60 percent) was greenhouse gas emissions, specifically exceeded by over 15 percent. An addi- when factoring in the utility source emis- FINDING THE BEST FINANCING OPTION tional (and final) $100,000 NYSERDA sions. By producing some of its own elec- From the beginning of Adelphi’s CHP bonus incentive was received for the tricity, Adelphi has reduced annual metric project, the university sought to invest in a second performance year. tons of greenhouse gas emissions by solution that would not constrain its ability 28 percent since CHP startup. A look at the to finance future infrastructure improve- OUTSTANDING RESULTS campus energy use intensity before and ments or expansion on its campus. Balanc- Since coming on line in September after installation of CHP demonstrates the ing output and cost was key to maximiz- ing the financial investment to achieve an eight-year payback period. System snapshot: Adelphi University Adelphi invested $13.5 million (total project cost) to modernize its heating plant Hot water/combined heat and power system and make other building-specific energy Startup year 1928 – Hot water heating system started up savings upgrades in the Science Building, 2016 – Combined heat and power added including replacement of exhaust fans and installation of variable-speed drives Number of buildings served 16 on the main air-handling units. The project Total square footage served 1.22 million sq ft as a whole generates annual savings of $1.6 million. Ecosystem contractually guar- Plant capacity 26.1 MMBtu/hr hot water, 1.99 MW electricity anteed the savings, allowing Adelphi to Number of boilers/chillers 7 decouple installation and financing and to source a competitive financing package Fuel types Natural gas, fuel oil independently. Two-thirds of the savings ($1.2 mil- Distribution network length 1.5 miles lion) were designated to pay back the loan, Piping type Buried plastic and the balance ($400,000) was allotted to finance other infrastructure projects Piping diameter range 4 to 12 inches across the campus annually. System pressure 60 psig The available financial incentive programs were also factored into the System temperatures 155 F-170 F (outside air reset) project design. The entire project, which included a few additional energy conser- System water volume 21,000 gal vation measures in addition to the CHP, Source: Adelphi University.

FIGURE 2. Panoramic view of the upgraded district heating plant, Adelphi University.

New mezzanine with Four new boilers pumps, ventilation and CHP with enclosure Courtesy Adelphi University. heat recovery system The CHP unit was lowered into the boiler Source: Adelphi University. room with inches to spare.

© 2020 International District Energy Association. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. District Energy | Winter 2020 35 TABLE 1. Comparison of energy use intensity – and each university has a different set maintenance, housekeeping and custodial (EUI), Adelphi University, before and after of circumstances that needs to be tack- services, trash removal and recycling ser- startup of the combined heat and power plant. led in a unique way – it is also highly vices, as well as maintains all athletic replicable and customizable for all dis- facilities. Adelphi has been at the forefront Before CHP First year of CHP (reference performance trict networks. The holistic approach and in sustainability over the years, with Facili- year 2013) (October 2016- integrated delivery method capture and ties Management the catalyst for many September 2017) leverage the optimized financial savings, campus programs and initiatives. Shipley Site EUI 124 kBtu/ 143 kBtu/ which generate additional funding for can be contacted at [email protected]. sq ft/year sq ft/year other campus improvements. Source EUI 266 kBtu/ 211 kBtu/ (considering the sq ft/year sq ft/year utility efficiency) Editor’s note: In June 2019, Adelphi Uni- Marc Couture, higher edu- versity’s new CHP system was recognized cation project development Source: Adelphi University. by the Long Island Chapter of the Associa- manager for Ecosystem, is tion of Energy Engineers, which named it an expert at diagnosing impact of the project (table 1). The result Energy Project of the Year. complex energy ecosys- is a source EUI reduction of 21 percent. tems and developing trans- With this successful project, Adel- formational energy retrofits. Passionate phi University has demonstrated that Robert Shipley is assistant about sustainable development, he works environmental, infrastructure and finan- vice president, Facilities closely with his clients to design innova- cial considerations are not necessarily Management, Adelphi tive energy solutions that respond directly conflicting priorities; rather, they can be University. He is respon- to their needs while offering an attractive addressed in an integrated project. For sible for the planning, return on investment. Couture has honed Adelphi, CHP is a transition technology construction, renovation, his understanding of the challenges faced as the campus progresses further toward maintenance and repair of the university’s by real estate owners when renewing decarbonization of its utility grid. buildings and facilities. His department capital infrastructure and improving en- Although this project was specifi- provides oversight of central power plant ergy performance. He can be reached at cally designed for the Adelphi campus and utilities, building systems, grounds [email protected].

How do we measure up? IDEA survey reveals member engagement, content preferences

As an organization dedicated to informing, connecting and advancing the Learn what your peers think district energy industry, IDEA is always eager to know what’s on the minds about IDEA by viewing the of the people we serve. This fall we reached out to our active members and nonmembers who engage with IDEA, asking them to participate in the IDEA full survey results at Industry Survey. www.districtenergy.org.

As IDEA Chair Scott Clark mentioned in his column, the results of the survey If you have any questions, were very encouraging. Many of the topics and initiatives that we focus on – please contact Jason Beal at such as peer exchange, access to case studies, best practice presentations and connecting with emerging technologies – ranked among the top priorities of [email protected]. our 580 survey respondents. We also learned about areas where we can make improvements and new topics that we should consider for future programming.

36 District Energy | Winter 2020 © 2020 International District Energy Association. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. rande is now spearheading Ecosystem’s has worked on many different types of Max Lamirande is senior growth in California. He is responsible for projects, including Adelphi University, project development engi- building relationships with clients on and has been exposed to a wide range of neer at Ecosystem. Having both coasts, qualifying opportunities and innovative solutions. He can be contacted been responsible for proj- figuring out what value he can bring to at [email protected]. ect development in the their projects. As part of the Ecosystem New York City area, Lami- project development team, Lamirande

CHP: VERSATILE AS A TRANSITION TECHNOLOGY

Adelphi University envisioned CHP as a powerful tool for able for mass penetration). On a broader scale, if there is still a need achieving its sustainability, resiliency, growth and financial goals. for dispatchable gas-generated electricity, it is a smarter choice to CHP systems can also play a role in the transition to a clean econ- rely on distributed, smaller CHP plants rather than central, larger omy. Looked at as a versatile asset, a CHP system and its value can power-only and less energy-efficient plants. be leveraged over time by changing the operating strategies and by Other potential applications of CHP could prove to be fruitful – introducing new technologies. for example, the use of CHP to support the introduction of heat In the short term, while the is still relatively pump technology in a heating electrification scenario for further carbon-intensive, the CHP system can continue to provide cheaper, decarbonization. Heat pumps have the unique ability to generate cleaner baseload energy while contributing to resiliency in emer- low-carbon heat, but they run on costly electricity. CHP could be the gency mode. solution that feeds them with cheap electricity. The value of com- In the medium term, once the grid cleans up a bit more, the bining CHP and heat pumps would be at its highest in winter when CHP system could either shift to a demand-response or peak-shav- heating demand is peaking and the technologies do not compete ing tool, operating only when needed to curb electrical demand. for the same thermal loads. CHP can also be used for grid services and resiliency. Finally, there is the potential to run CHP on zero- or low-carbon The electric grid in Ontario demonstrates another strategy. fuels, such as biogas, liquid or hydrogen. Carbon sequestra- With decommissioned in the province in 2014 and a greater tion represents yet another potential long-term way that CHP could portion of the energy replaced with renewables, the value of peak provide low-carbon energy. shaving has risen dramatically. Peak shaving and The introduction of more technologies will in the Ontario market have been so lucrative over the past five years certainly impact the use of CHP. A combination of various strategies that CHP owners have been incentivized to use the asset only for is possible: management in summer, use with heat coincident peak-shaving and resiliency purposes. pumps in winter and backup emergency mode whenever needed (especially needed if heat pumps are the sole source of heating, raising the question of how to provide heat to occupants in case of OTHER CHP APPLICATIONS COULD PROVE FRUITFUL – E.G., a power outage without on-site generation). USING CHP TO SUPPORT INTRODUCTION OF HEAT PUMP It is impossible to predict what the breakthrough technolo- TECHNOLOGY IN A HEATING ELECTRIFICATION SCENARIO. gies or price of energy sources will be in 2050; there is a tendency, however, to underestimate the rate of technological change. There- . fore, flexibility, adaptability and the ability to envision versatile use Additionally, there will still be a need for dispatchable electric- of technologies in different market conditions in the future will be ity generation to compensate for solar and wind energy, at night or important assets. Table 2 outlines potential CHP strategies as the when air is still (before battery technologies are sufficiently afford- grid becomes greener.

TABLE 2. Potential combined heat and power strategies and their benefits as the grid becomes greener.

Gradual decarbonization of the electrical grid Short-term Medium-to-long term

Potential CHP operation strategies • Baseload operation • Demand management • Emergency mode • Combination with heat pumps • Low-/zero-carbon fuels (biofuels, hydrogen)/carbon sequestration

Benefits • Cleaner electricity • Demand savings • Energy cost savings • Alternate decarbonization solutions • Increased resiliency

Source: Ecosystem.

© 2020 International District Energy Association. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. District Energy | Winter 2020 37