van Zelm Engineers lead green power plant project at One Penn Plaza

van Zelm Engineers, a mechanical and electrical consulting firm based in Farmington, Conn., led the design team for the construction of an innovative new cogeneration power plant at One Penn Plaza. The building is a class A commercial property. The project was unveiled on November 17. It is expected to significantly reduce the building's carbon footprint and to double its energy efficiency. van Zelm Engineers is known as a pioneer in green, sustainable and LEED-certified energy infrastructure projects. Their power plant design makes One Penn Plaza one of the largest private buildings in the city to build and utilize a cogeneration system. This was a challenging retrofit to a 38-year old, 2.4 million s/f, 57-story skyscraper situated atop New York's Penn Station. Its newly operating power system, located on a roof set-back on the building's 12th floor, puts One Penn Plaza solidly at the forefront of 21st-century energy efficiency. Cogeneration plants, so named because they simultaneously generate both electricity and heat, can produce up to twice as much energy per unit of fuel as traditional energy stations, while also decreasing toxic greenhouse gas emissions. By using this new 6.1 MegaWatt power plant, One Penn Plaza will reduce its carbon footprint by 40%, and will also produce over 50% of its own heat energy on site. The plant also reduces the skyscraper's reliance on the city's often overburdened electric grid. The One Penn Plaza cogeneration plant generates electricity by burning natural gas, one of the cleanest sources of fuel. The heat created during this process is then captured and recycled through heat recovery equipment, to heat and cool the building. Joe Camean, PE, VP and director of power & utility engineering services at van Zelm, said, "van Zelm Engineers is very excited to be helping one of New York's most prestigious commercial buildings become more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. It reflects well on the city, and the building's owners, Vornado Realty Trust, and the developers, Endurance Energy, Ltd., that they have invested in the environment even during difficult economic times." Project stakeholders and representatives of the mayor's office celebrated at the ribbon cutting ceremony: "We hope by today's announcement to shine a light so there will be many more like it," said New York's deputy mayor of operations, Stephen Goldsmith. "Many buildings, public and private will be attempting to emulate this effort as we go forward." In business since 1930, van Zelm Engineers provides services in mechanical and electrical engineering, sustainable design, power & utility, energy, commissioning and planning. The firm's green energy projects are located across the United States, including the LEED Silver-Certified Pfizer Clinical Research Complex in New Haven, Conn.; the sustainable redevelopment of downtown Belmar, Col. into a mixed-use residential/commercial community; and the Smith College Cogeneration Plant and LEED Gold-Certified Engineering and Molecular Science Building in Northampton, Mass.