The Medical Area Total Energy Plant in Boston, Mass. is one of five facilities nationwide being recognized by EPA with a 2013 Energy Star “Combined Heat and Power” award.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology, also known as cogeneration, simultaneously produces electricity and useful heat from a single energy source (e.g. natural gas, oil, etc.). CHP ensures that facilities can continue to operate in the event of a power outage. CHP systems typically achieve operating efficiencies of 69 to 75 percent, much higher than the efficiency of separate production of electricity and thermal energy which is typically less than 50 percent.

EPA is recognizing the Medical Area Total Energy Plant (MATEP), owned by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Veolia Energy North America, for the superior efficiency of its 46 megawatt (MW) CHP system that produces steam, chilled water and electricity for the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston. This area is home to five hospitals, numerous biomedical and pharmaceutical research centers and Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching institutions. The Longwood Medical area includes more than 1,800 staffed beds and serves 103,000 inpatients and more than 2.4 million outpatients per year.

“EPA is pleased to recognize the outstanding pollution reduction and energy efficiency qualities of the MATEP facility,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “Maximizing efficiency makes good sense financially as well as providing environmental benefit through less pollution. This project sets a good example to other facilities.”

A key driver for the MATEP CHP development was to increase energy reliability by decreasing dependence on the local utility because the system is designed to operate and remain fully functioning for the duration of an area power outage. Critical operations at the hospitals and research centers served by MATEP can continue without interruption in the event of disruption to the local power grid. The system is also designed to use fuel oil in the event of a disruption in the natural gas supply.

Two natural gas-fired combustion turbines equipped with two heat recovery steam generators power the CHP system, producing up to 360,000 pounds of steam per hour and 24 MW of electricity. The steam is used in steam turbines to generate an additional 22 MW of electricity and also to heat water for space heating and other uses. In addition, several chillers use part of the steam output to produce chilled water for space cooling.

With an operating efficiency of 75 percent, the CHP system requires approximately 24 percent less fuel than supplying electricity from the grid and producing steam with a boiler. The system also prevents emissions of air pollutants, including an estimated 117,500 tons of CO2 emissions annually, equal to that from the electricity used by more than 13,000 homes.

EPA’s CHP Partnership also recognizes its Partners Siemens Energy and Veolia Energy North America for their contributions to this project.

The U.S. EPA’s CHP Partnership is a voluntary program that seeks to reduce the environmental impact of power generation by promoting the use of cost-effective CHP. The Partnership works closely with energy users, the CHP industry, state and local governments, and other clean energy stakeholders to facilitate the development of new CHP projects and to promote their environmental and economic benefits.

More information:

- Energy Star’s Combined Heat & Power (CHP) Partnership: http://epa.gov/chp/

- Energy Star CHP awards: http://epa.gov/partnership/awards.html