Energy savings performance contracting with new construction = energy security at white oak

The objective of this article is to describe how energy savings performance contracting (ESPC) can be applied to federal new construction projects to promote energy efficiency and sustainable design while simultaneously enhancing energy security and reliability. A case study—the Federal Research Center at White Oak (FRCWO)—will be used to highlight the benefits of this approach to federal agencies. Challenges abound in the federal new construction arena. Requirements for things such as blast protection, progressive collapse, LEED certification, and high levels of energy performance are frequently under-resourced in facilities programming. As a result, these various requirements compete for the dollars required to address the functional performance of a building. The functional needs evolve as well, putting additional pressure on the new construction budget. Base realignment and closure (BRAC) legislation enacted in 2005 exacerbated funding challenges within the Department of Defense, particularly with the Army. At the same time, there are concerns that the functionality of the facility could be jeopardized as a consequence of tying into a less than fully reliable power grid. Application of ESPC in the federal new construction environment can assist in meeting some of these budget and performance challenges. The ESPC new construction approach was used to address the energy infrastructure needs at FRCWO, which will be a state-of-the-art 3.7-million-square-foot, $1.2-billion office and laboratory compound for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The General Services Administration (GSA) manages the design and construction of the campus. A combined heat and power central utility plant (CUP) was constructed via an ESPC. Using an ESPC to provide for the campus energy needs freed up more than $65 million in capital funding that could be reapplied to meet the functional requirements of the FDA. The CUP currently includes a 5.8MW dual-fueled engine-driven generator, a 2MW standby diesel generator, three 4.5MW gas-fired turbine generators, more than 10,000 tons of cooling capacity, and 54,000 MBtu/hr of heating. CUP capacity will continue to grow to more than 40MW electric generation, 15,000 tons cooling, and 99,000 MBtu/hr heating at build-out. The case study will relate how different sources of power generation, fuel types, and distribution paths were used to achieve a high level of energy surety while simultaneously enhancing the energy performance of the FRCWO campus. © 2010 Energy Engineering All. rights Reserved.