California Builds New Green Central Plant for its Capital
The state of California is building a new environmentally friendly central plant to heat and cool more than 5.5 million square feet of office space in the Capitol and 22 other state buildings in the downtown area.
The state of California is building a new environmentally friendly central plant to heat and cool more than 5.5 million square feet of office space in the Capitol and 22 other state buildings in the downtown area.
The state will seek a LEED gold designation for the new building serving the capital. The facility will replace an aging 40-year-old plant that relies on production of steam and chilled water to do its job and has had increasing trouble keeping pace with demands.
"California continues to lead the nation in fighting climate change and this new central plant is leading by example to reduce our state's carbon footprint," Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "It is very exciting that this new facility is being built to the gold standard."
In line with Schwarzenegger's 2004 Executive Order requiring the greening of state buildings, high-tech efficiency systems to reduce and manage use of energy and water are key to the new central plant and its work to warm and cool the state offices.
In contrast to the old plant, the new structure is designed to do the job with about a tenth of the water currently used.
The new plant's features include cooling towers to release heat pulled from state buildings and a 140-foot-tall, 4.25 million gallon, thermal energy storage tank for reserves of chilled water necessary for plant operations during off-peak energy demand times.
The plant will also have solar panels that are expected to provide energy for the offices in the building.
The facility has been designed in a U-shape and is being built around the existing plant at Sixth and Q streets in downtown Sacramento. When construction is complete and the new plant is operational in May 2009, the old one will be demolished and the thermal energy storage tank will be built in its place, Eric Lamoureux, spokesman for the state Department of General Services, told GreenerBuildings. Completion of the tank will finish the project and is expected in mid 2010, he said.
Work on the $181 million design and construction project began in November 2007. Workers completed steelwork on the structure last Friday. The placing of the final beam was cause for a "topping out" ceremony held by the State and Consumer Services Agency and the Department of General Services.
Skanska USA Building Inc. has designed and is constructing the new central plant and working with Sacramento firm Nacht and Lewis Architects, Flack and Kurtz of San Francisco, Lawson Mechanical and Redwood City Electric, among others. The state's major consultants, on the project include Capitol Engineering Consultants Inc., Lionakis Beaumont Design Group and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., according to the Department of General Services.
The state will seek a LEED gold designation for the new building serving the capital. The facility will replace an aging 40-year-old plant that relies on production of steam and chilled water to do its job and has had increasing trouble keeping pace with demands.
"California continues to lead the nation in fighting climate change and this new central plant is leading by example to reduce our state's carbon footprint," Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "It is very exciting that this new facility is being built to the gold standard."
In line with Schwarzenegger's 2004 Executive Order requiring the greening of state buildings, high-tech efficiency systems to reduce and manage use of energy and water are key to the new central plant and its work to warm and cool the state offices.
In contrast to the old plant, the new structure is designed to do the job with about a tenth of the water currently used.
The new plant's features include cooling towers to release heat pulled from state buildings and a 140-foot-tall, 4.25 million gallon, thermal energy storage tank for reserves of chilled water necessary for plant operations during off-peak energy demand times.
The plant will also have solar panels that are expected to provide energy for the offices in the building.
The facility has been designed in a U-shape and is being built around the existing plant at Sixth and Q streets in downtown Sacramento. When construction is complete and the new plant is operational in May 2009, the old one will be demolished and the thermal energy storage tank will be built in its place, Eric Lamoureux, spokesman for the state Department of General Services, told GreenerBuildings. Completion of the tank will finish the project and is expected in mid 2010, he said.
Work on the $181 million design and construction project began in November 2007. Workers completed steelwork on the structure last Friday. The placing of the final beam was cause for a "topping out" ceremony held by the State and Consumer Services Agency and the Department of General Services.
Skanska USA Building Inc. has designed and is constructing the new central plant and working with Sacramento firm Nacht and Lewis Architects, Flack and Kurtz of San Francisco, Lawson Mechanical and Redwood City Electric, among others. The state's major consultants, on the project include Capitol Engineering Consultants Inc., Lionakis Beaumont Design Group and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., according to the Department of General Services.
