Page 362 - Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems Design, Construction, and Operations

CHAPTER 20

Case Study 2:

Fort Bragg CHP

Steve Gabel

James Peedin

ort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located in North Carolina is the home of the army’s
Airborne and Special Operations Forces. One of the largest army installations in
Fthe world, Ft. Bragg is a key operations center for the army’s rapid deployment
forces. In 2004, a Honeywell-led project team completed the installation of a large com-
bined heat and power (CHP) system at the post’s 82nd Central Heating Plant as shown
in Fig. 20-1.
This CHP project was financed primarily through a public-private partnership via
an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC). The cooling portion of the system was
supported by a research and development contract from the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) through Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), with technical assistance from
the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP).

Technical Overview
The 82nd Central Heating Plant is the largest of 14 central plants on the post. The plant
provides district heating service to approximately 50 barrack buildings and other facil-
ities with 125-psig steam and 210°F hot water (converted from steam) for space heating.
The plant also serves a year-around heating load for domestic hot water and food ser-
vice needs. The plant provides district cooling service to a smaller number of buildings
with 45°F chilled water for space cooling.
The major equipment in the CHP system consists of a 5-MW combustion turbine
generator, a 1000-ton, exhaust-driven absorption chiller, a heat recovery steam gen-
erator (HRSG) and an auxiliary gas-fired duct burner. The turbine generator is fired
with either natural gas or fuel oil (to offer the army plant operators a fuel option based
on cost).
The plant also includes an auxiliary gas-/oil-fired steam boiler and an auxiliary
electric centrifugal chiller for either backup or additional capacity when required. The
CHP system has an electrical power generating capacity of 5250 kW, and an unfired
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