Healthy Returns From CHP Plant

BY IAN CAMERON

A combined heat and power (CHP) plant has been supplied to the Boston Scientific manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland, by Finning UK & Ireland (Finning).

Boston Scientific has invested in an 800 kW gas-fired CHP unit to help cut energy costs, improve operational efficiencies and increase sustainability. The new plant delivers energy-saving efficiencies of up to 23 328 kWh of primary energy per day, according to Finning, which said it is the world’s largest Caterpillar dealer and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

The CHP system generates electricity on-site and also captures the usable heat that is produced during this process. Finning said that Boston Scientific now achieves a total efficiency rating of 87.7% when compared to conventional electricity generation.

Featuring a containerised Cat CG132-16 natural gas-fired generator set with an electrical output of 800 kWe at 400 volts, the system will also generate up to 406 kWt from the engine’s water jacket circuit and 450 kWt from the exhaust, providing low temperature hot water that can be used for the site’s utility building services and manufacturing processes.  Finning said the plant offers a payback period of fewer than three years.

Niall Ahern, facilities engineer at Boston Scientific, said: “We began the process of looking to improve our operational efficiencies more than two years ago, with CHP offering the best all-round investment for us in terms of cost, efficiency and sustainability.”
Finning said the plant provides 80-90% of the facility’s electrical requirements at weekends and 60-70% of electrical requirements during the week, depending on demand. It helps power a range of utility equipment, humidifiers, air handling units and compressed air systems, as well as controlled environment equipment and lighting.

“The integration of the CHP plant was one of the largest, most complex projects to be delivered at our site in Cork last year and we expect it will continue to provide a good return on investment, added Ahern.  Finning also provides maintenance packages to customers, with Boston Scientific signing a multi-year agreement.

The Boston site manufactures more than 5.6 million devices for the company’s cardiology, rhythm management and vascular group, endoscopy, and urology and pelvic health divisions.