Local civic leaders and energy officials turned out Tuesday morning for the grand opening of a cutting edge electrical plant that will power the Dell Children's Medical Center, under construction at the site of Austin's former Mueller Airport.
The Mueller Energy Center, billed as a model for energy efficiency, will provide all necessary electricity, heating and air conditioning for the new hospital, according to a written statement.
"This will be the only hospital in Texas with an on-site power plant that feeds power back into the electric grid," said Chris Kirksey, senior vice president for power production at Austin Energy. Austin Energy will be responsible for operation of the power plant.
Local political figures spoke to an audience of more than 100 people, including representatives from city, state and federal offices.
Most hospitals have back-up generators, but the Mueller plant covers everything from emergency services down to the vending machines, Austin Mayor Will Wynn said.
The 475,000-square-foot hospital is slated for a grand opening in June 2007. Full-scale testing of the new power plant's heating and cooling systems won't begin until the hospital nears completion next spring, said Ed Clark, Austin Energy spokesman.
Construction on the power plant began in July 2005 and took just more than a year to complete, Clark said. The plant's electrical generator was first switched on in August to undergo a series of tests, he said.
Hot exhaust from the plant's generator will be used to produce steam to heat the hospital during the winter. Most power plants provide heating from electricity rather than the plant's steam by-products, according to speakers at the opening. When temperatures soar during the summer, the steam will be chilled for use in air conditioning for the hospital and other buildings in the Mueller redevelopment community, which will include retail, commercial, and residential space.
The 4.3 megawatt power plant is fueled by natural gas, but the facility is designed to use 20-percent less fuel than most other methods of electricity production, according to the Austin Energy Web site.
Wynn also heralded the drastic 40-percent reduction in carbon emissions offered by the plant, equivalent to removing 1,800 cars from local roadways or planting almost 3,000 acres of trees.
"This is definitely a trend-setter on the cutting edge of what's happening," said Paul Dickerson, chief operating officer at the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
The technology behind the $18 million Mueller facility was developed by the Advanced Turbine Systems program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
More hospitals and commercial and industrial centers should follow the lead of the Mueller redevelopment project, said Ted Fox, director of the engineering science and technology division at Oak Ridge.
"It's very important that Americans begin to invest in our own energy technologies at home, so that we can not be as dependent on foreign oil, and also begin to find some cleaner ways to provide that energy," Dickerson said.
Be the first to comment on this article!