Iowa City, IA
Five new buildings planned for the University of Iowa Oakdale campus require substantial improvements to the utility distribution infrastructure and the creation of the Oakdale Renewable Energy Plant. The Iowa City office provided civil, structural, mechanical and electrical design. Materials testing and land surveys were also included.
This multi-phase project will upgrade the University of Iowa Oakdale Power Plant to produce electrical power from renewable energy sources such as methane and natural gas. The heat by-product of this electrical generation will be used to heat buildings with a hot water distribution system and cool buildings by powering steam-driven chilled water turbines to supply a chilled distribution system.
The plant provides hot and chilled water service to the UI/UIHC Data Center, Library High Density Archive Facility and Oakdale Environmental Management Facility. The mechanical distribution project involved direct buried hot water distribution piping and chilled water distribution piping to provide services for these buildings as well as the State Hygienic Laboratory.
Electrical distribution upgrades replaced an antiquated 7,200-volt overhead electric distribution system with a 13,800-volt underground distribution system, in a loop configuration for improved reliability. The underground electric loop provides primary power and backup power to the new buildings. This project also connects to a new 69kV substation provided by Alliant Energy. This will improve reliability and enable the University to provide renewable electrical power to Alliant Energy.
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tags: energy