UC-Irvine 18 MW Cogeneration and Chiller Addition

As a public research university serving one of the most populous counties in the U.S. with extensive power demands, the University of California, Irvine expanded its campus to make its educational facility a first-choice university for college students.

The Kiewit team was awarded the contract for engineering, design, construction support and commissioning assistance for the 18-megawatt cogeneration facility with a one Solar Titan 130 combustion turbine and a Deltak heat recovery steam generator as well as a 2-by-3,000-ton York Electric Centrifugal chiller addition near an existing facility in the heart of the university campus.

This project added capacity to the university’s existing chilled water system that serves the growing campus, allowing them to generate their own electrical power and provide a backup power source to the campus in case of loss of service from the utility. In spite of several challenges stemming from lack of documentation on the existing facility and a small working space, Kiewit’s project team successfully integrated the existing facility with new equipment to meet the university’s power needs.