Asst. Secretary for Energy David Garman Visits CEEE

On May 9, 2003, Assistant Secretary for Energy David Garman visited the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE) to tour the Chesapeake Building, home to the Integrated Energy System Research Center. Two independent Combined Cooling, Heating and Power (CHP) systems installed in and around the high-profile administrative building are used to demonstrate and experiment on electrical generators and waste heat activated cooling equipment.

David Garman directs the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which funds research into distributed energy resources (DER). DER improves the efficiency and reliability of the electric grid by placing smaller, cleaner electrical generators closer to the point of end use, thereby reducing transmission losses and making the waste heat remaining in the exhaust gases available for heat activated cooling, heating or dehumidification equipment. The Chesapeake Building is a unique facility visited by hundreds of engineering professionals, educators, legislators from around the U.S. and the world every year.

Also in attendance at the tour were Patricia Hoffman, director of the DER program within the Department of Energy, Patti Garland, the project’s director from Oak Ridge National Laboratories, representatives from the DER/CHP industry, as well as Mechanical Engineering Professor Reinhard Radermacher, Director of the CEEE. The tour was hosted by the staff and students of the CEEE and concluded with a visit to the campus 27MW Trigen CHP Plant that is currently in the last stages of commissioning on campus. By replacing the old, existing energy infrastructure with the new CHP plant, the University of Maryland stands to save approximately $6 million per year. The University also anticipates reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxide by 196,000 tons and carbon dioxide emissions by 3.5 million tons over 20 years, making it an excellent example of the benefits that can be realized from this technology.

Published May 9, 2003