New Orleans Regional Medical Center District Energy System

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New Orleans Regional Medical Center District Energy System

Entergy Resources Inc. selected FVB Energy Inc. to provide a variety of business development, marketing and engineering services for this district energy system, which provides cooling and heating services to five large medical complexes as well as government and commercial buildings in downtown New Orleans. The system began operations in 2000.

Technologies
• District cooling. The plant will have an ultimate capacity of 32,000 tons including thermal energy storage. The plant combines large packaged electric centrifugal chillers producing 37°F water with four dual-duty, industrial grade screw chillers capable of producing chilled water or ice for thermal energy storage.
• Ice thermal energy storage. Peak power demand load shifting is provided with 52,600 ton-hours of ice-on-coil thermal storage in a 900,000 gallon tank.
• District heating. Multiple linked plants provide sufficient capacity to reliably supply 150,000 pounds per hour of 250 psig steam for space heating, domestic hot water, kitchen and sterilization.
• Standby/peak shaving power generation. Reliability is enhanced with 8 MW of diesel power generation for standby and peak shaving.
• Plant integrated with parking facility. District energy facilities are integrated into a site development plan that includes a 600-space parking garage.
Customers
• Five medical centers (Louisiana State University Medical School, Tulane Medical School and Clinic, Charity Hospital, VA Medical Center and University Hospital)
• Commercial buildings
• Government buildings
FVB Energy, Inc. Services
FVB Energy provided many types of services to make this project successful, including:
• Market assessment and feasibility analysis
• Conceptual design of district heating and cooling system, including assessment of required modifications to the existing heating and cooling plants for either integration into the district energy system or for stand alone operation
• Marketing and sales guidance and support
• Assistance in developing Energy Services Agreement between Entergy and customers • Financial analysis and rate structure development • Hydraulic modeling and thermal storage analysis • Level two financial analyses prior to capital authorization
• Development of Owner’s Requirements Documents providing detailed requirements for the plant, piping and end-user systems
• (RFP) for Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC) implementation of plant
• Review of plant, distribution system and building interconnection drawings provided by contractor
• Audit of contractor’s approach to commissioning