The Department of General Services (DGS), declared that its central utility plant has received LEED Platinum certification awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, the highest green building design qualification.
The facility supplies cooled water and steam to heat and cool 23 buildings owned by the state and located in downtown Sacramento. This is the third facility of DGS to receive LEED certification.
Chillers Provide Chilled water for cooling and are equipped with variable frequency drives to minimize energy use and costs. Credit: DGS California
The new facility, which substituted the earlier plant constructed in 1968, was planned and constructed to offer a secure and more dependable type of cooling and heating facilities to state buildings thus improving their energy competence and environmental sustainability. The new plant incorporates efficient steam boilers that use gas for boiling and cooling tools equipped with cooling towers and variable-speed electric chillers. The new plant also features solar PV panels mounted over the parking area to produce the power needed for the office and the other support areas of the facility and for local water heating.
DGS has completed the plant construction with an idea of cutting down the total costs and risks by having a design-build contract with Skanska USA Building who also supplied the needed design and building services for the facility. According to the estimates of DGS, the new plant has already saved over 4.2 million kWh of electric power and around $679,000 in costs in comparison to a plant of the same size without incorporating the green standards.
Source: http://www.dgs.ca.gov