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Albany Medical Center, 4.6 MW CHP System - Case Study
Albany Medical Center in downtown Albany, NY encompasses the 651-bed Albany Medical Center Hospital, as well as the 550-student Albany Medical College. It is a Level-I Trauma center, and the only academic health sciences center in Northeastern New York State. In 2013, Albany Medical Center underwent a $330 million expansion of the Medical Center Hospital. Not only does the expansion allow for state-of-the-art services, it also allowed Albany Medical Center to become the first hospital in the region to attain LEED Gold Certification, in part due to its incorporation of CHP.
Quick Facts
- LOCATION: Albany, NY
- MARKET SECTOR: Hospitals
- FACILITY PEAK LOAD: 8 MW
- EQUIPMENT: 4.6 MW Solar Turbine Mercury 50-6000R recuperated gas turbine
- FUEL: Natural Gas
- USE OF THERMAL ENERGY: Space heating and cooling, domestic hot water, sterilization, healthcare processes
- CHP TOTAL EFFICIENCY: 84%
- ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT: 20,000 ton annual reduction in CO2 emissions
- TOTAL PROJECT COST: $23 million
- PAYBACK: 7-9 years
- CHP IN OPERATION SINCE: 2013
- NOTE: Received 2015 Build NY Award from Associated General Contractors of NY State
Reasons for CHP
To meet the increased power needs from the expansion, Albany Medical Center Hospital chose to invest in a CHP plant. Because of its urban location, the available space for power generation is tightly constrained, and Albany Medical Center wanted to ensure they could meet the needs of their current and future expansions. CHP is compact enough to site on their campus, and even provide the option of future plant expansion. It also provides significant energy cost savings for the hospital, and reduces carbon emissions by 20,000 tons per year, helping meet the Center`s environmental goals.
- Ability to site in a dense urban location
- Resiliency
- Energy cost savings
- Environmental benefit
