Energy Efficiency Drives Environmental Efficiency Case Study of the Thermal Energy Corporation Energy Center at Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas

ABSTRACT While the momentum continues to grow for renewable energy and sustainable solutions, it will likely be a long time before we are able to completely wean our energy plants from using fossil fuel. In the meantime, it is important to continue to find ways to use fossil fuel in a more efficient and environmentally sound way. This article will address an approach to integrating state-of-the-art technology to implement an onsite energy system that generates electric power and thermal energy at significantly higher efficiencies and produces lower emissions than our traditional central generation facilities. Another increasingly important benefit to on-site energy systems is the increased reliability and security an on-site energy plant brings to facilities, especially those that serve or have a critical mission, such as hospitals, data centers or command and control centers.