U.S. Department of Energy Turns to Constellation for Energy Conservation

Article by Constellation

After 60 years of operation, the boilers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Germantown, Maryland facility were rapidly approaching the end of their life cycle. The DOE was looking for a company that could help facilitate the boilers’ urgent replacement with the challenge of limited funding. The DOE facilities management sought alternative financial vehicles to fund the replacement of the boilers and found a solution with Constellation.

Through the Utility Energy Services Contract (UESC) offered by the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO), the DOE found the contract vehicle they needed to carry out the upgrades with Constellation. This teamwork serves as an example of how Exelon’s family of companies represent every stage of the energy value chain — both PEPCO and Constellation are Exelon companies. UESC — available to all federal agencies within PEPCO’s service territory —provides energy infrastructure upgrades that are paid for over time via reduced energy and operation costs.

With this contract, Constellation was able to bundle additional energy conservation measures (ECMs) with the replacement of the boiler plant. This resulted in a more comprehensive, site-wide evaluation including HVAC and lighting upgrades.

Constellation implemented more than $6 million in ECMs, which are expected to save the facility an anticipated 900 metric tons of CO2 annually — the equivalent of 193 cars driven for one year according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates. The ECMs are expected to save the DOE more than $425,000 in the first year alone with continued annual savings over the term of the 17-year contract.

The flexibility of this contract allowed for a collaborative process between the DOE’s facilities management and Constellation’s engineers to ensure the design met all their requirements and needs specific to the facility. In addition to the boiler replacements, Constellation:

• Retrofitted 8,000 light fixtures to LED lights
• Reinsulated bare pipes
• Installed steam meters for monitoring
• Replaced the steam kettle with an electric kettle to eliminate the need for year-round steam pressure
• Installed controls to allow for ventilation to be provided based on occupancy instead of a present value based on full occupancy and
• Completed building envelope improvements, including sealing exterior and interior penetrations to reduce unconditioned air infiltration.

“Constellation has been proud to work with the DOE to perform these key updates while enabling the agency to develop energy resiliency, achieve sustainability goals, and manage its costs,” said Michael D. Smith, senior vice president, Distributed Energy, at Constellation. “Our consistent goal is to tailor our energy solutions to fit each customer’s unique needs, and this project was no exception.”

For more information on how Constellation has helped other customers implement energy conservation measures like the DOE, visit our website.