Utility System Master PlanNewark, N.J.
Peer review created $1.8 million plan to expand district heating and cooling networks, a significant savings compared to the $8.4 million plans proposed by other consultants.
June 2004 to September 2005
Chilled-Water System OptimizationHarrisburg, Pa.
Designed chilled-water system modification that improved delta T from 7 F to 16 F. Expected to save $320,000 in annual energy costs with a 2.6-year payback.
January 2007 to January 2008
Power Plant ExpansionNew Haven, Conn.
Planned and managed power plant expansion involving district heating, district cooling and cogenerated power systems. Returned more than $700,000 of unused construction contingencies.
September 2000 to March 2002
Boiler Plant UpgradeNew York, N.Y.
Out-of-box thinking allowed installation of packaged boilers in basement.
January 2002 to December 2004
Central Utility Plant Master PlanEssex Junction, Vt.
WM Group's $12 million plan for reusing existing chiller plant capacity saved capital costs against the $42 million plan proposed by other consultants. Proposed expansion of district heating and cooling systems.
1995 to 1997
Chilled-Water System Peer ReviewDurham, N.C.
Review of new chiller plant design resulted in $2 million capital cost savings.
March 2005 to September 2006
Chilled Water Delta T ImprovementHopewell, New Brunswick, Wallingford, Evansville, N.J.
Applied revolutionary control logic to double the chilled-water delta T at one of the large air-handling units.
September 2005 to October 2005
Chilled-Water System OptimizationThousand Oaks, Calif.
Made creative chilled-water plant modifications that optimized operations, saving nearly $500,000 in annual energy costs.
Campuswide Utility Systems Renewal and UpgradeProvidence, R.I.
Project award - January 2005Major design and construction documents completed - July 2008 Final construction completed - Summer 2010
Brown University, the prestigious Ivy League institution established nearly 250 years ago, found itself in need of a comprehensive utility systems upgrade by 2010 - one that encompassed the campus's central heating and cooling and electrical systems. Constructed over time without benefit of an overall utility master plan, these systems were not functioning efficiently, to say the least. Aging absorption chillers, for example, had been replaced at some point with electric chillers, without consideration of the need for high-pressure steam for use in power generation - something the campus relied on to offset higher electricity usage during peak cooling season. Without the demand for high-temperature hot water during cooling season, the distribution piping suffered thermal stresses and, ultimately, failures.
Brown University selected WM Group Engineers over several well-known engineering firms to provide schematic design and construction documents to renovate these systems and improve their efficiency. The scope of these documents included expansion and major remediation of the existing high-temperature hot water distribution system; modification to the central plant systems to meet future loads and help utilize the existing back-pressure turbine generator during the cooling season; a cogeneration feasibility study; a study of the feasibility of interconnecting and centralizing satellite chilled-water plants; upgrading existing electrical site distribution systems and substations to improve overall system reliability and flexibility. WM Group's work will optimize Brown's utility systems through, among other upgrades, the construction of two new chiller plants, a new electrical substation, several miles of new underground distribution piping and a new gas turbine cogeneration system.
The Port Authority of New York and New JerseyChilled-Water Plant and River Water Systems Design
New York, N.Y.
Project award - November 2006Basis of design completed - January 2007Preliminary design completed - March 2007Construction documents completed - January 2009 Plant and distribution system construction to be completed - September 2011
The World Trade Center in Manhattan is being rebuilt as a grand urban center for the 21st century, with five new skyscrapers, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, a transportation hub, retail complex and performing arts center. Construction on all projects will be completed by 2012. WM Group was selected to provide detailed design and construction documents for a central chilled-water plant and distribution systems to serve much of the center - a task requiring extensive coordination with the design teams of the many other construction projects across the site as well as consideration of environmental concerns.
Collaborating closely with the numerous other design teams, WM Group produced plans for a new 12,500-ton chiller plant, located within the Memorial & Museum, which will utilize water from the Hudson River. The firm also designed the renovation of a river water pump station, inactive and corroded since Sept. 11, 2001, plus a distribution network that will run through various stakeholder spaces on the World Trade Center site.
