Saint-Gobain’s New Combined Heat and Power Plant

Recently, A/Z Vice President, Robert Rose, spoke at Saint-Gobain’s groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate their new Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) Project. Saint-Gobain Abrasives (SGA) selected A/Z as its design-build partner for its new CHP system to provide demand power to its Worcester, MA manufacturing plant.

The CHP system will replace a Central Steam Plant currently used in the existing manufacturing facility. The new system includes a natural gas-fired gas turbine generator and a supplemental natural gas-fired heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), enabling it to produce electricity as well as to power the SGA Abrasives Plant. The turbine has a net electrical capacity of 4,600 kW at 13.8 KV.

The CHP will be designed to supply the maximum energy load of the production plant with minimum purchased power. It will be grid-connected to allow for energy export during periods of lowered plant demand but will have the capability to ‘island’ the facility as needed. A standby generator will provide auxiliary startup power allowing the plant to operate with no connection to the utility grid.