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CENTRAL UTILITY PLANT (CUP)

The NIH Central Utility Plant (CUP) consists of both the Boiler Plant for Steam and Chiller Plant for chilled water.
It is the largest U.S. government cogeneration plant (COGEN) and also one of the cleanest cogeneration systems in the world.
COGEN plants combined heat and power from a single fuel source, such as natural gas, to produce both electrical and thermal energy. 

An onsite cogeneration system is more efficient than a utility-operated central power plant because thermal energy that would otherwise be
wasted is captured for use at the onsite facility.​

The complexity of these facilities requires a continuous program of Renovations and Upgrade Projects to maximize efficiencies and capitalize on new technology.

Safe Operation: The CUP surpassed 3,178 days of work without a lost time injury or accident.  That equates to 8.7 years of safe plant operation.

Free-Cooling Savings: FY2022 free-cooling savings for the plant totaled $145,846 with just under 1,875 hours of chilled water production with no Chiller online.

Chilled Water Plant Optimization: This is the third year using the Chilled Water Plant Optimization program. This system uses weather and system operational data to predict load requirements and change setpoints on running equipment. It also makes system configuration suggestions to the operators aimed at reducing energy usage. 

At the close of FY22, the system, aided by an experienced operations team, were able to reduce energy usage by 6,722 MWh and kept 13M lbs. of CO2 out of the atmosphere. 

The average annual project funding for the CUP is $20M. ​