Erdman Anthony evaluated the feasibility and associated cost of separating the utilities of a 455,000-square-foot manufacturing plant owned by a leading medical diagnostics company. The plant, in an industrial campus in Rochester, NY, had a self-contained utility structure.
The utilities involved in the evaluation were:
- A 2,220- to 2,400-ton independent chiller plant for building cooling
- A 1,500 HP independent boiler plant for building heating
- An independent compressed air plant for process systems
- Domestic water sourced from the local public water authority
- Fire-protection water sourced from the local public water authority with a local fire pump
- An independent nitrogen plant
- An independent reverse osmosis water plant
- Natural gas sourced from a local utility company
- Stormwater and sanitary water systems connected to the local county-operated collection systems
- An independent industrial waste treatment plant discharging to local county-operated collection systems
- Dual 34.5kV electric services from a local utility company
- Emergency generators to provide life safety systems and critical load systems
- Telecommunication services from a local provider
- Parking and employee access to the building
- Removal/relocation of utility piping, telecommunications systems, and a sewer pump station
Erdman Anthony prepared a report summarizing the concepts and options, evaluated the feasibility, completed life-cycle benefit cost analyses for chiller and boiler options, and established a general scope of work required to separate these systems. The report also included rough order of magnitude cost estimates for various options.
Working with Erdman Anthony, the client considered building a cogeneration plant but determined the option would not provide an economic benefit due to the plant’s size and results of a life-cycle cost benefit analysis.