New York City Health and Hospital Corporation Bellevue Hospital Resilient Cogeneration System

Burns developed bridging documents for a 4-Megawatt (MW) combined heat and power system.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue is full-service healthcare complex in New York City and among the largest electric and steam customers for utility provider Con Edison.

In 2012, Superstorm Sandy severely damaged the 1,500-bed hospital, psychiatric center and Level 1 Trauma Center, forcing the complex to close for several months.

To assist NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue withstand future power outages, New York Power Authority (NYPA) commissioned a study into the feasibility of a 4-MW reciprocating internal combustion engine-based cogeneration system. The study concluded that installing a combined heat and power (CHP) system would enhance resiliency — and deliver significant financial benefits by offsetting the need for costly steam.

Supporting NYPA, Burns developed bridging documents for 30 percent of the CHP system design. The design approach involved:

• Capture and reuse of waste heat to produce base load power and to supply various thermal loads, including for domestic hot water, space heating, and reheat coils.
• Installation of a 450-ton, single-stage absorption chiller system, reducing demand for costly peak electric power.
• Reconfiguration of the hospital’s electrical distribution system.
• Interconnection of the CHP system to operate in tandem with emergency generators for complete facility backup.
• Development of the design-build bidding package, which served as basis of the final project design and for construction pricing.

Once complete, the cogeneration system is expected to provide Bellevue with increased reliability, improved energy efficiency, and an estimated $3.4 million in cost savings per year.