The site will be the headquarters for Blackmores’ Australian and international business and comprise commercial office space, warehouse and production facility. The building is 14,000 metre square.
The cogeneration plant uses natural gas and emits about 50 per cent less greenhouse gases than coal power stations to substantially reduce the building’s greenhouse gas emissions and help the environment.
Cogent said that with such a system, the energy savings for a 15,000 metre square commercial building could be as much as $100,000 in the first year of operation, not to mention that the Green Star and Australian Building Greenhouse Gas Rating could be increased by up to two stars.
Cogeneration configuration
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The Blackmores campus cogeneration plant comprises 2 x 386 kilowatt (kW) MTU 400 series cogeneration engines that are connected in parallel to the grid. One engine is coupled to 292 kW Thermax exhaust absorption chiller, while the other engine is coupled to a 461 kW Thermax double effect exhaust & engine jacket chiller.
Plate heat exchanges provide 625 kW of heating capacity for building space, lap pool and production heating. The absorption chillers and heat exchangers are fully integrated into the building heating, chilled and condenser water systems. The plant is set up to operate in grid parallel import and island mode and operates automatically during the peak and shoulder demand periods.
The system will deliver energy cost savings of about 20 per cent. The cogeneration facility will save approximately 2,500 tonnes of CO2 per annum.
Cogent Project Manager Marcus Firth said that the project is complete and operational, however the engine is currently running on part load as the building is not yet fully occupied.
Cogent Energy is a distributed energy company that provides an alternative energy solution to owners of large commercial building complexes. The company can provide an onsite cogeneration plant that generates the building’s electricity, heating and cooling needs at efficiencies of up to 80 per cent.
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