NV5 was commissioned to oversee the building of the new Central Heating Plant (CHP) located at the UMass-Amherst campus. The project includes a 38,000 square foot process building, a 27,000 square foot fuel oil and water tank farm, a 2,000 square foot condensate storage building, and new steam distribution utility trenches and tunnels.
The new CHP was built with a combustion turbine/generator [CTG] with a nominal rating of 10 MW and a heat input rating of approximately 120 MMBtu/hr, three package boilers each rated at approximately 125,000 lb/hr steam flow with a maximum heat input rate of approximately 170 MMBtu/hr, a reciprocating engine emergency generator and an emergency diesel fire pump. The CHP is designed to meet 100% of the campus steam needs though 2025 and generate most of the campus electricity.
NV5 also was the Project Manager for the remediation and demolition of the former power plant. The former power plant consisted of seven boilers fired with coal, natural gas, and/or fuel oil, as well as the coal handling and storage facilities.