Ceremony to mark TECO's status as largest district cooling system in U.S.
Thermal Energy Corp.:
What
Event:Thermal Energy Corp. (TECO) will
mark completion of its $377 million energy-saving expansion at the Texas
Medical Center – and TECO's new status as the largest district cooling
system in the U.S. – at a May 17 event titled "The Energy Behind What's
Next." The event will include the startup of new chillers, tours of the
site and a video showing the dramatic transformation of TECO's Central
Plant site since 2008.
Scheduled speakers include U.S. Rep. Al Green (Texas-9); Dr. Richard Wainerdi, CEO and president of the Texas Medical Center; Paul G. Bell, Jr., chairman of TECO's Board of Directors; Greg Graves, chairman and CEO of Burns & McDonnell; and Steve Swinson, TECO's president and CEO.
Project:Project completion signals the beginning of significant energy and cost savings and emission reductions at TECO's Central Plant. Sized to meet the growing needs of Texas Medical Center institutions, the expanded district energy system will help TECO
- double its energy efficiency;
- save more than $200 million over the next 15 years; and
- cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 302,000 tons in its first year in operation. That is equivalent to taking 52,000 cars off the road or planting 72,000 acres of new trees.
TECO's expansion included installing a 48-MW combined heat and power (CHP) unit (dedicated in August 2010) and adding 32,000 tons of new chiller capacity; an 8.8 million-gallon stratified thermal energy storage tank; distribution piping; and a new operations support facility featuring a state-of-the-art control room.
Burns & McDonnell provided engineering, procurement and construction services for the project that created or sustained more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction period. The work crew logged 1,250,000 work-hours with no lost-time injuries.
When
Tues., May 17, 2011
Noon - 1 p.m.
Where
East Chiller Building at Thermal Energy Corp.'s
Central Plant
1615 Braeswood Boulevard, Houston
Texas Medical
Center campus
Media Access
Full media access. Photographers and TV crews
welcome. Media kits available at registration desk. Interviews of
leadership team members from TECO, Texas Medical Center and Burns &
McDonnell are available pre-, post- or during the event.
Thermal Energy Corp.
Thermal Energy Corp. provides reliable,
cost-effective and energy-efficient heating and cooling to 18
institutions in the world-renown Texas Medical Center. In operation
since 1969, TECO uses district energy technology to produce steam and
chilled water, which it pipes underground to customers for air
conditioning, space heating, dehumidification, sterilization, kitchen
and laundry processes, and domestic hot water use. For more information
about TECO, visit http://teco.tmc.edu.
Burns & McDonnell
Burns & McDonnell provides
engineering, architecture, construction, environmental and consulting
services to clients throughout North America and abroad. More than 3,000
engineers, architects, scientists, planners, estimators, economists,
technicians and other professionals work in 20 offices located
throughout the U.S. Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is 100 percent
employee-owned. For more information about Burns & McDonnell, visit its
website at www.burnsmcd.com.
Contacts:
Burns & McDonnell
Roger Dick, 816-822-3339
rdick@burnsmcd.com
or
Westerlund
Communications Inc.
Monica Westerlund, 612-590-2324
mlw@westerlund.com
