Summary

The project came together with extensive structural, mechanical, and electrical expansions of the existing facility.

The civil site design by Meridian included replacement parking for the reconfigured site, new tunnel coordination to the building, utility coordination, and surface repairs for several new electrical duct bank routing to Substations and switchgear throughout the Campus. New access roadways for diesel fuel trucks, semi-trucks, and service vehicles were included in the plans.  Additionally, the design included a regional detention facility for both the new Co-generation Site and the new Engineering Building site along with storm system connections between the two new sites.

Meridian provided terrestrial LiDAR scanning of the interior and exterior of the heating plant including 245 scans, creating a 3D model of the space. Piping, columns, and utilities were mapped using Edgewise software in preparation so the design team could retrofit accurately and quickly to the existing systems within the project parameters.

The addition of power generation to the facility necessitated a campus-wide power distribution upgrade to existing utility tunnels and vaults, construction of five new switchgear centers, and modifications to the north and south substations, as well as the complete demolition and reconstruction of the west substation. Construction phases of the project required working in and around a fully functioning heating and cooling plant in the center of an active university campus by Bodell Construction.

Special Project Consideration: The goal of the project was to significantly reduce emissions from the original coal-fired boilers. While natural gas alone offers advantages over the burning of coal, more could be done. The new Victory heat recovery unit (HRU) which delivers heat capacity to the campus’ high-temperature water system incorporates an emission-reduction component in the form of a carbon monoxide catalyst and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to remove nitrous oxides which is a greenhouse gas. A new ammonia vessel installed outside the plant supplies the SCR aqueous ammonia to remove large amounts of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from the exhaust stream. This added element is reducing the carbon footprint impact from BYU and the overall surrounding community.