National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Golden, CO
Ameresco was selected by NREL under the Department of Energy’s Biomass and Alternate Methane Fuel (BAMF) Technology-Specific Super Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) program to evaluate, engineer, and implement (construct) the Renewable Fuel Heating Facility (RFHF) at the NREL campus in Golden, Colorado utilizing wood biomass as the fuel source.
The RFHF will use biomass as a fuel source for a new combustor and a heat recovery boiler to supply hot water to the NREL Campus. The new facility will have the potential to generate 9 MBtu/hr, or approximately 600 gallons per minute of hot water to the buildings. The project includes the installation of the new equipment, the facility and the piping necessary to connect the renewable fuel heating facility to both the SERF boiler plant and the FTLB boiler plant. Implementation of this project provides the potential for NREL to realize energy savings resulting from the difference of cost to produce hot water in the existing gas fired boilers and the cost to produce the same quantity of energy in the new facility using biomass. The anticipated the plant will begin operations in March 2008.
The project will include the construction of a new facility to be located next to the existing Field Test Laboratory Building (FTLB). The new facility will house a wood fired combustor and heat recovery boiler which will provide hot water for the South Table Mountain portion of the campus. The project will also include the installation of hot water distribution lines connecting the new facility to the Solar Energy Research Facility (SERF) central plant and the FTLB central plant. The RFHF will also provide hot water to the new Science and Technology Facility (STF), which will help secure a higher level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for this new building.
The project will result in an increase of system efficiency and provide annual energy savings while offering additional benefits to NREL and the Golden area. The project will have a positive impact on the environment by using local woodwaste sources to displace fossil fuel consumption. The project also has further potential to encourage new development of biomass projects in the area as well as at other federal facilities. Additionally, Ameresco is working in parallel to the NREL project with the Colorado State Office of Energy Management and Conservation’s Woody Biomass Office to help establish a woody biomass co-op to further promote wood biomass to energy projects.
These savings, not taxpayer money, were used to fund the projects. In addition, the projects will reduce energy consumption at the base by 40%, exceeding Presidential Executive Order 13123.
