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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExhibit 6 - Exhibit 6 - Hoag Cogeneration Facility FactsExhibit No. 6 Cogeneration Facility Facts, submitted by Hoag on April 8, 2008 5.IA THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY BLANK 5, lo5 45t4m e./ ;57 h� J Yf 8' /o8 COGENERATION FACILITY FACTS THIS COGENERATION PLANT provides ESSENTIAL UTILITIES AND SERVICES TO OPERATE THE HOSPITAL and precludes impacts to patient services during an electricity brown out or blackout. FACTS: Q. What is the Cogen? A. The Cogen is a green facility that creates clean environmentally friendly electricity from natural gas to reduce Hoag's reliance on electricity. Using natural gas to create electricity reduces Hoag's "carbon footprint" while providing Hoag a more efficient and consistent energy source (See Exhibit "A" attached). The Cogen provides: 65 %-85% of Hoag Hospital's electricity for power and lighting 50% of the Hospital's needs for chilled water for cooling the buildings 25% of the Hospital's needs for hot water for building heating 2. Q. Is the Cogen operating with permits? A. The Cogen Plant is allowed under the Hoag Hospital Master Plan approved by the City of Newport Beach. AQMD, OSHPD (Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development) and the California Coastal Commission have also approved the fully permitted Cogen facility. 3. Q. What is the plume? A. The "Plume" is water vapor generated by the cooling towers and occurs only a few days a year (December to February or March seems to be the. most relevant time of year for the generation of water vapor from the cooling towers) for a limited period, mostly during the morning hours when there is (a) a low ambient air temperature (generally below 55 °F) and (b) a high ambient relative humidity (generally above 65 1/o). Water vapor from the cooling towers was tracked for a 90 day period from April 20, 2007 to June 24, 2007 with findings showing less than 12 days where a significant water vapor was visible and during those days the average duration was 1.5 hours occurring between 7:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. During the winter months the occurrences may be more frequent in the morning hours, however such events vary depending on the micro climate (temperature and humidity). 4. Q. Is the plume a health risk or is it an aesthetic concern? A. The City's . environmental health risk assessment expert has determined that the water vapor from the cooling towers is treated pursuant to proper protocols with multiple biocides and is not hazardous and does not create a health concern - -it is water vapor. The issue is primarily an aesthetic one. Updated 4/07/08 841184.0710C ' O H4081 -041 /4- 7 -08/gv"lu S. 5. Q. Are cooling towers commonly fitted with "plume abatement "? A. Cooling towers are a common component in the chilled water systems for major projects. The cooling towers are used to remove heat from engine intercoolers and chillers and when the warm water passes through the cooling towers heat is rejected which creates the water vapor. Therefore it is the cooling towers not the Cogen Plant that creates the water vapor. Cooling towers are found all along the coast. Major hotels like the Balboa Bay Club have cooling towers. In the case of the Balboa Bay Club, there is no plume abatement system installed and there was no mitigation measure required in the EIR for a facility that is located in the Coastal Zone and is located below existing residential development. The City's and Hoag's engineering experts have been unable to identify any cooling towers in the California coastal zone with plume abatement systems. 6. Q. Will a plume abatement system (i) increase Hoag's energy use, or (ii) have a negative impact on the environment? A. Any system that is installed to reduce the water vapor plume will negatively impact the energy efficiency of the plant. This means it takes lots of energy to run an abatement system, the equivalent of the electrical use of 80 to 300 residential homes, depending on the mitigation approach, just for the operation of a system to reduce the water vapor plume during the few hours of the limited days a year the plume is visible. More importantly any plume abatement system will significantly increase Hoag's "carbon footprint ". The plume abatement systems evaluated by Fluor would increase Hoag emissions of carbon dioxide by between 1 11,000 and 150,000 Ib /year. 7. Q. Did engineering experts review the options for plume abatement? A. Hoag retained the services of 3 independent, highly experienced engineering firms (Syska Hennesy, Bock Engineering, Optimum System Solutions, Inc.) and 4 contractors (McCarthy Contractors, ACCO, Air Treatment and Control Air Conditioning Corporation) to review possible methods to reduce the water vapor plume. These engineers have independently reviewed options for the last 18 months and have worked cooperatively with the residents and the City to explore alternatives. The City of Newport Beach retained Fluor to further review possible methods. All of the experts reviewed 4 options and unanimously agree there is NO OFF THE SHELF FIX to reduce the water vapor plume. All of the engineers agree any mitigation system will need to be a custom fix for the Hoag facility: a. Option 1: operational change to reduce the plume by 5 to 15 % -- Hoag has offered to implement this modification at its cost. A modest capital cost, an increase of utility cost as well as an estimated 67,500 lb/per year increase of Carbon Dioxide emissions; b. Option 2: retrofit a pump system to lower the water temperature in the cooling towers. Capital cost for this option is estimated at $500,000 to $1,000,000 for a 10 to 20% reduction (implemented in conjunction with Option 1). Increase utility cost as well as an estimated 135,000 lb /per year increase of Carbon Dioxide emissions; 841184.07/OC H4081441/4- 7 -08/gsWm s -2- y.10 C. Option 3A: install an air cooled heat exchanger in a 40'x 50' walled enclosure (approx. 25' high) in the area near PCH -- which includes fans needed for the air cooled heat exchanger which will have noise impacts that have not yet been measured. The cost for this Option 3A was established by 3 independent cost estimates (Syska: $5.74M -6.6M) (Fluor: $4.2M -5.5M) (McCarthy /Control Air Conditioning Corporation: $6.7M -7.2M) (cost estimates are plus or minus 30 %) for the full system implemented in conjunction with Option 1, the estimate of the reduction in the potential plume is approximately 50% at full load utilization. There will be a significant energy loss (loss of plant efficiency) for Hoag, an increase in utility cost (equivalent of approximately 240 residential homes) as well as an estimated 111,000 lb /per year increase of Carbon Dioxide; and d. Option 3: replace existing towers with new towers equipped with plume mitigation system (wet/dry tower) - cost approx $7.9 - 93M. The estimate of plume reduction is approximately 70% at full load utilization with a significant energy loss for Hoag, an increase utility cost (equivalent of approximately 300 residential homes) as well as an estimated 150,000 lb /per year increase of Carbon Dioxide emissions and 500 lb /year of Nitrous Oxide. Q. Did the designers of the Cogen facility review plume mitigation options when it was designing the Cogen in 2002? Why was such system removed from the design? A. During the feasibility stage of design of the Cogen in 2002, the engineers evaluated options for water vapor mitigation. The engineers provided a cooling tower cost difference with and without plume abatement system. During this review process the engineers estimated the tower component difference to be approximately $390,000. However, it is, important to understand this $390,000 is only a portion of the system required for plume mitigation. In addition to the plume abatement component for the towers the engineers described to Hoag that to support and implement such a system the plant would need to include additional major heat source equipment (increase boiler and•ancillary equipment size or add new equipment), additional steam and condensate piping, additional gas piping, additional electrical power, new control package, structural concrete platforms, related support systems, and an added 10 foot screen wall structure to the top of the towers (the Plume Reduction Support Systems). The design team considered multiple factors before they "value engineered" out the plume abatement system. Many factors were considered in the analysis and decision by Hoag that the system installation was not prudent including the loss of energy and significant reduction in plant efficiency, increase in noise due to the fan system, the fact that cooling towers were constructed up and down the California Coast and NONE that Hoag knew of had plume reduction systems, there were no examples of the plume reduction technology on cooling towers and therefore no guarantee as to outcome in the coastal zone, and the excessive capital cost to install a custom system. Please note the system costs today and in 2002 do not vary much (see estimates in Option 3). 841184.07/OC 3 H4081.041 /4.7 -08/gsm/mms 9. Q. Has Fluor built a plume abatement system in the California Coastal Zone? A. Plume abatement in a California Coastal Zone is so rare that Fluor was retained to review options. Notwithstanding Fluor's extensive experience they have not been able to identify ANY projects in the California Coastal Zone that they have worked on with plume abatement technology. Hoag retained several of the highest volume engineers and contractors in California to help identify such projects and they did not find examples anywhere in California - -SF Bay area to San Diego, except for I power plant in Carlsbad. 10. Q. How is methane in the area mitigated? A. Hoag has implemented a system which benefits the public by collecting methane from beneath City land and residential land on the other side of PCH. The methane deposit in the area is significant and Hoag previously supported a flare system to burn the methane. Currently methane is gathered on the lower campus and pumped to the upper campus where it is filtered, metered, and used to operate a boiler. Hoag currently does not burn off any unused methane though a flare. A by- product of the methane flare was a sulfur smell which has been eliminated. 11. Q. Are there examples of cooling towers in California with and without plume abatement? A. Examples of cooling towers in view sensitive coastal areas — none of these cooling towers have plume abatement systems: a. Balboa Bay Club - Newport Beach (2 cell unit from Marley) b. South Coast Medical Center - Laguna Beach C. Hyatt Huntington Beach (2 cell unit from Baltimore Air Coil) d. The Inn at Spanish Bay — Pebble Beach (Evapco units) e. Pebble Beach Lodge, Pebble Beach (Evapco units) f. Hyatt Mission Bay — San Diego g. Hilton — Huntington Beach h. Lowes Santa Monica Beach Hotel (Baltimore Air Coil units) 841184.0710C H4081- 04114 -7 -O ftsmlmms -4- �v' 5.10q EXHIBIT "A" Cogeneration Plan Cogeneration is a mechanical operation that uses one energy source to produce two separate forms of energy. In Hoag's application, natural gas is being used to `produce electricity and hest, which is than used to produce hot water and chilled water. The construction of the Cogeneration.Plam on Hoag Hospital's Lower Campus is in direct response to the wave of power shortages California experienced in 1999 and 2000. Hoag Hospital was forced onto its back -up systems numerous times as the Southern California Edison system failed to meet the power needs of the hospital, the county, and the state as a whole. The Hoag Hospital Board of Directors issued a charge to the hospital management to insure no patient was put in jeopardy due to power failure. The solution was for the hospital to generate its own power source, and to shift Southern California Edison to a back -up option, along with the diesel generators already on the hospital campus. The current system's redundancy ensures no surgeon at Hoag Hospital will be faced with the situation of having a patient receiving medical services or having surgery-and there be no power to ran the lights or the sophisticated equipment needed to provide medical treatment to save a life. As the primary source of electricity for the 38 -at re hospital campus, the two -story, 24,000 square -foot Cogeneration facility houses generators capable of supplying as much as 4.5 megawatts of power which provides for 65 -85% of Hoag Hospital's current and anticipated power needs. Additionally, the Cogeneration Plant provides the Women's Pavilion, and future hospital facilities on the Upper and Lower Campuses with chilled water. . Hoag Hospital's Cogeneration Plant utilizes three 16 cylinder, .2,000 hp natural gas -fired reciprocated engines as the primary energy source. Each engine is linked to a generator to produce electricity, which, in parallel with Southern California Edison, provides the hospital with the electricity it requires. The system, via Waste Heat Recovery . Units, and absorption chillers, also produces chilled water which is pumped to the majority of buildings on campus to provide air conditioning. Finally, the system, via heat exchangers, provides hot water for the hospital. T'lte bulk of the building construction took place during 2004 and 2005. The natural gas -fired engines, absorption chillers, electrical chiller, natural gas -foal boiler, and the four cooling towers associated with the Cogeneration Plant have been installed and are being used to support Hoag Hospital operations. (Me fourth cooling tower was permitted by OSHPD and bas been operational since November, 2007.) The City provided an Approval in Concept (AIC) for the Cogeneration project on September 17, 2002, and the California Coastal Commission approved the project on December 10, 2002. The adjacent neighbors were informed of the project as evidenced by minutes of the Villa Balboa Association meeting on November 19, 2002. Coastal Development Permit No. 5-02 -325 was subsequently issued on June 12, 2003. Several permits were issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for the Cogeneration Plant project The grading permit for the Cogeneration Plant was issued by the City on July 22, 2003, and project construction commenced on August 26, 2003. The Cogeneration Plant is fully operational and providing electricity, chilled water, and hot air for Hoag Hospital. The plant is fully permitted by all relevant agencies including the City of Newport Beach, the California Coastal Commission, OSHPD, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. 841184.07/OC 114081 -041 /4- 8 -081gsMmms EXHIBIT "A" 5