1. 36 ha main campus was heated and
cooled by a long-standing geothermal
system. College officials planned for
the new clean-and-green energy system
in Davidow Hall to supplement the
campus’s geothermal ground source
system, installed in 1991. In addition,
two inefficient systems, a DX cooling
system that featured freon-based com-
pressors and natural gas boilers that
produced building heat and hot water,
also served Davidow Hall.
Constantine was told the payback
on the system will be 10 years, but
because of its efficiency and energy
savings, he expects the payback will
be much sooner. He anticipates a
30% overall energy savings because of
the microturbines.
Commissioned in late 2009, the
Capstone microturbines produce more
than 80% of Davidow Hall’s electricity
and 100% of the building’s heating and
cooling. The microturbines are dual-
mode, which allows for them to island
when utility power goes down.
“Dual-mode capabilities are impor-
tant because we see a lot of brownouts
and blackouts on the grid that serves
the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and Maryland, U.S.A.,” Constantine
said. “Our grid is vulnerable, and by
having our own on-site power plant,
we’re helping to relieve grid pressures.”
The system’s efficiency is linked to the
microturbines’ combined heat and
power application, and also to the
Capstone advanced power server (APS).
The APS is a stand-alone controller that
monitors the building’s load changes and
automatically shuts down the microtur-
bine with the most run hours when it’s not
needed, for example on weekends or in
the late evening when students are gone.
SEE DIRECTLINK
WWW.DIESELGASTURBINE.COM
Key components of the
US$12.4 million Green Data
Center at Syracuse University
are 12 patented Capstone
Hybrid UPS MicroTurbines
from Capstone Turbine that
provide power to the en-
tire facility.
demand from researchers, students and
professors for greater computing capabilities and data storage was straining
the campus’s outdated data center,
which had been housed in an old brick
building for decades.
Constructed in just six months and
showcased to the public in December
2009, Syracuse University today boasts
one of the world’s most energy-efficient
and green data centers. The 1115 m2
facility — named the Green Data
Center — is expected to use 50% less
energy than a traditional data center.
Key components of the US$12.4 million Green Data Center are 12 patented
Capstone Hybrid UPS MicroTurbines
from Capstone Turbine that provide
power to the entire facility. According to
the company, Capstone’s Hybrid UPS is
the first power system to integrate low-emission C65 ( 65 k W) microturbines
directly with a dual-conversion UPS to
provide power for mission-critical loads.
The Syracuse University project and
Capstone Hybrid UPS microturbines
address critical concerns for modern
data centers around the world such as
spiraling energy consumption and
costs driven by growing demand for
Internet communication, entertainment, global commerce and services.
BHP Energy, a Capstone Turbine
distributor, was selected by Syracuse
University and project partner IBM to
integrate an innovative tri-generation
concept into the data center. For the
tri-generation system, the 12 Capstone
Hybrid UPS microturbines produce
electricity, heat and cooling power, all
from a single burn of clean natural gas
using an integral power plant.
Cummins Power Generation
Nor-Tech Fabrication, U.S.A.
Capstone Microturbines
Syracuse University, U.S.A.
Last year, Syracuse University, locat-
ed in Syracuse, New York, U.S.A. – reg-
ularly ranked among the Top 100
schools in the nation — realized it
needed a new data center. Escalating
When Nor-Tech Fabrication needed
to find a reliable way to power two
portable rock crushers in a harsh envi-
ronment, the Kelso, Washington,
U.S.A.-based company pressed Cum-
mins Power Generation into action with
a specialized power solution.
