4C Foods is a food processing and manufacturing company in Brooklyn, NY. Their acclaimed grated cheeses, bread crumbs and other gourmet products are stocked by retailers nation-wide. It takes a lot of energy to make ingredients that kick things up a notch, and in NY City, energy is exceptionally expensive. Deploying cogeneration brings about dramatic savings, generates cash flow and improves competitiveness. The cogeneration system we designed for 4C Foods consists of one 80kW and two 150 kW Coastintelligen® cogeneration units serving two separate electrical services. Recovered waste heat in the form of hot water is used for space and process heating applications. The waste heat is also used to drive absorption chillers to produce chilled water for supplemental air conditioning. The plant was pre-assembled and shipped to 4C Foods in a factory pre-wired and pre-piped sound attenuated enclosure. This simplified and reduced installation costs. The heat recovery and exhaust accessories were field-assembled and piped on the roof of the cogeneration enclosure.

Harbec Plastics produces highly engineered, precision plastic parts for the medical, automotive, consumer goods and other industries. The CHP plant we designed for Harbec is the first of its kind in NY State, and among the first in the world. The system consists of an array of 25 ultra-low-emission 30 kW Capstone Micro Turbines producing high-quality uninterrupted power. Heat recovered from 20 of the units powers radiant floor heating in the warehouse, drives an absorption chiller and provides additional space heating. The CHP plant reduces Harbec’s net energy cost by over 30%, ensures production continuity and lowers its environmental impact.

Facing rapidly rising energy costs, the K-12 Fonda-Fultonville Central School District in Fonda, New York, installed a 1.3MW combined heat and power system to power the school campus. This was the first grid–independent cogeneration project in New York state and today provides all the electricity, space heating and cooling needed for the 300,000 sq. ft. facility. The CHP system consists of four Cummins 334kW lean-burn natural gas engine generator sets, each with hot water recovery equipment that collects waste heat from the engine exhaust. In the winter, the generators provide electricity and the exhaust heat provides space heating for the campus. In warmer months, the system provides electricity and powers a 200-ton electric chiller and 200-ton absorption chiller for air conditioning.

Arrow Linen is a commercial laundry in Brooklyn, NY. Every day, Arrow’s employees launder tons of table linens and uniforms for New York’s hotels and restaurants. It takes a lot of energy to turn soiled and grimy into spotless and tidy. In NY City, this energy is exceptionally expensive. Arrow Linen is using cogeneration to dramatically reduce operating costs and improve competitiveness.

The CHP plant we designed for Arrow Linen is built around two Coast Intelligen units of 150kW each. These are low emission natural gas–fired engine sets, with induction generators. Waste heat is recovered as hot water. This waste heat is used to preheat make–up water for the domestic hot water tanks and steam boilers (offsetting existing gas usage). The savings generated by the CHP plant financed several long–deferred capital projects. Among these is a complete electric service upgrade that included proper connection of the CHP power. A micro-processor controlled utility parallel system was installed to meet ConEd interconnection guidelines. The CHP plant is situated on the roof of the building. Since Arrow Linen is located in an upscale residential neighborhood, this necessitated sophisticated sound attenuation. This clean and quiet plant demonstrates that distributed generation can be integrated into a densely populated urban neighborhood.Energy Concepts is an engineering firm with a singular commitment: To maximize energy efficiency in our clients’ facilities. With over 60 CHP (Combined Heat & Power) plants, we are the leader in planning, design, permitting, commissioning and upkeep of on-site CHP plants. Our plants range from 150kW to 10MW and include gas-fueled engines, fuel cells and microturbines.

How long will a CHP plant operate? This question comes up routinely. The answer is simple– for as long as the CHP plant is properly maintained. Case in point– the CHP plant at Clifton Springs Hospital. First commissioned in 1994, it has been in continuous 24/7 operation since. This plant in a mission–critical setting delivers 99% overall availability, 365 days per year. Thermal output is used to heat the hospital and run a central absorption chiller of 300 tons. System efficiency is between 85% to 90%. Of special note is the fact the plant is located above an operation theater, and has to be especially quiet and vibration-free.