Central Energy Plants

Syska Hennessy Group analyzes, designs and commissions central energy plants (CEPs), the lifeblood of essential aviation, corporate, healthcare, higher education and hospitality facilities.

We support our clients’ mission for reliable on-site power, now and into the future, through MEP design, energy analysis, life-cycle cost analysis as well as prefunctional and functional commissioning activities. Our approach ensures power resilience so clients can maintain uptime for their critical operations and life safety systems. An example of this would be island mode operation of a combined heat and power plant in the event of an extended utility outage. Two facilities in the northeast, which were designed by Syska, were able to remain completely operational throughout the duration of the widespread utility outages caused by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.

Designing CEPs to Also Deliver Financially

To offset the significant upfront capital investment associated with central energy plant construction, Syska works with local utilities and third-party developers to identify financial incentives as well as alternative operating strategies. In one instance, Syska was able to assist the Mashuntucket Pequot Tribal Nation secure more than $6 million in utility grants to aid in the construction of their 15-MW combined heat and power (CHP) facility. In another example, Los Angeles International Airport was able to secure over $500,000 in in rebates from the local utility provider for the installation of a thermal energy storage system to shift electrical load to off-peak hours.

We also help clients utilize their CHP systems as an asset that can pay for itself through substantial utility cost savings and, in some cases, by generating extra power that can be sold back into the utility grid. In one recent installation at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, California, the owner was able to completely eliminate their $180,000 monthly electric bill while actually generating net income by selling the excess power generation to the utility grid for an attractive retail rate that had just been enable by recent state legislative actions.

Outsourcing Central Power Plants

For an increasingly number of end users, outsourcing the construction, operation and financing of an on-site central energy plant is an attractive option that can still deliver energy cost savings over the grid’s utility price while freeing valuable capital for core business needs. Syska can help clients identify their energy requirements and guide them through the outsourcing process. For the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, Syska designed the central energy plant at a preliminary level, helped craft contract documents and a request for proposal to potential design-build, owner-operator companies and assisted through the evaluation and selection process. This enabled the hospital to invest additional capital funds that otherwise would have been utilized to construct a traditionally financed on-site CEP into the patient care spaces of the new greenfield hospital.