Swinburne University of Technology adopts trigeneration

Simons Green Energy has been awarded the contract to supply and install a 230 kWe natural gas fired trigeneration plant at Swinburne University of Technology in Victoria.

The plant will form part of the $100 million Advanced Manufacturing Design Centre (AMDC) at Swinburne’s Hawthorn Campus that is currently under construction. The 10-level building will be approximately 17,000 m² in size and is due for completion in December 2013.

The trigeneration system is the first of its kind to be installed at the university and will offer significant energy savings. It will provide a large portion of the university’s electricity demand and will utilise the waste heat generated by the engines to provide space heating and cooling. The electricity generated is cleaner than coal-fired, grid-supplied electricity, thereby producing a substantial reduction in carbon emissions.

Trigeneration is the simultaneous production of three forms of energy - electricity, heating and cooling - from a single fuel source (natural gas) at the point of usage. The systems have a total efficiency of 85%, compared to the 25-30% efficiency of grid-supplied electricity.

Designed and installed by Simons Green Energy, the trigeneration plant will be made up of a 230 kW Ener-G Cogeneration Plant and of a 250 kW Absorption Chiller supplied by Shuangliang. The engine generator and heat recovery package will be supplied as a complete factory-tested unit and housed inside a purpose-built acoustic enclosure. The unit will be configured to run parallel to the grid, meaning that the only energy to be purchased from the grid will be that required over and above what the engine can supply.

The engineering team from Simons Green Energy is working closely with mechanical contractor Allstaff Airconditioning and global engineering consultants Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) to ensure a smooth installation. The state-of-the-art trigeneration system will be launched in June 2013.

Vince Persi, Swinburne’s Associate Director, Major Projects, said: “Swinburne has ambitious targets to reduce its carbon footprint and enhance its environmental management by embedding sustainability into every facet of its activities.

“One of our major milestones is to achieve a 5 Star Green Star rating with the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and trigeneration is a major factor in achieving this rating.

“As a university, it is important that our students and maintenance team are exposed to these new technologies so that they can learn about them and implement them in future projects.”

Derek Simons, CEO of Simons Green Energy, said: “The trigeneration system is technologically advanced and will be more than twice as efficient as conventional grid-supplied electricity. We are delighted to contribute towards Swinburne’s sustainability plan to achieve a 5 Star Green Star-rated building. The trigeneration system will provide students, researchers and professors a unique opportunity to experience the environmental and financial benefits of such technology.”