LOCATION: New Haven, CT
STUDY DATE: November 2011
FIRM ROLE: Investment Grade Study for Repowering the Central Utility Plant
Waldron was selected by Yale University to develop a master plan for the repowering of the existing Central Utility Plant. The existing facility consists of three 5 MW gas turbines and heat recovery boilers that provide steam and electricity to the campus. The turbines are now at the end of their useful life.
Waldron’s scope included the development of a Basis of Design document that quantified the future requirements for the Central Utility Plant. The requirements comprised thermal and electric load profiles, operational restraints, environmental requirements, and economic parameters. An operations model of the existing Central Utility Plant was developed to simulate the hourly operations of the plant serving the campus loads for a 20-year period, BAU case (Business as Usual). A series of alternatives were developed and run against the 20-year simulation to quantify the technical performance of the options operating against the campus loads.
An economic model of the operations is linked to the simulation, taking into account utility rate structures, commodity costs, and other influences. The combined models provided a data set that was utilized for the selection of a preferred option to be refined in to an investment grade business case.
The investment grade business case included a detailed construction cost estimate, linked to a construction plan, including rigging analysis and a phasing-in schedule. Detailed operating cost results were included from the 20-year simulation. Operations costs and maintenance costs were developed down to the individual staffing level, consumable consumptions, and LTSA quotations. A final set of project economics along with a probabilistic analysis was developed for presentation for the business case to the trustees.