Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center CHP Plant
The central utility plant at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center was expanded and updated, continuing Penn State Health's path to higher efficiency and more sustainable energy. CHA designed the addition of a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant into the current central utility plant that serves the expansive 550-acre hospital campus.
This CHP plant centers around a singular Solar Turbines Taurus 70 7.5 MW combustion gas turbine generator, complemented by a heat recovery steam generator featuring duct firing capability, providing a consistent supply of 80,000 lb/hr steam. The CHP plant covers 54% of the campus's power requirements and a substantial 96% of its steam demands. This dual-purpose installation reduced annual utility expenses, improved the hospital's energy supply resilience, and contributed to lower carbon emissions. The CHP plant includes load shedding and black start capacities increasing reliabliliy during power grid outages and ensuring seamless continuity of critical medical services.
Project summary
Providing 80,000 lb/hr of steam.
Reduction of 46,000 tons in carbon emissions.
Reduced annual utility costs by $2.5 million.
Talk to an expert
John Joyce, P.Eng.*
Associate Vice President,
Business Practice Leader,
Power and Thermal Generation
John has over two decades of experience gained from the roles of Business Manager for Hatch Energy and Director of Operations for Trenergy Inc. He also has international experience in business development, corporate governance and project execution for the power generation and heavy industrial machinery industries.
