INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL

Controlling the Cogeneration Plant for Hudson Yards

  • By Randy Smith
  • Sep 04, 2020

Towering over the Hudson River on Manhattan’s New West Side is Hudson Yards – a cultural epicenter with more than 100 diverse shops, residences and culinary experiences. By area, it’s the largest private real estate development in the United States – covering more than 18 million square feet over seven city blocks.

Early in the planning process, the Hudson Yards development recognized the opportunity to power Hudson Yards in a resilient, effective and sustainable way. The answer was a 13.3-MW cogeneration (CoGen) plant.

“The plant is a green initiative, we wanted to limit the greenhouse gasses by burning natural gas onsite, said Nick Lanzillotto, vice president of MEPHRY Development. “It means we use about 80 percent of the energy the plant produces both electrical and thermal energies, as opposed to around 30 percent of the energy from commercial electric suppliers.”

NOT YOUR TYPICAL POWER PLANT

The CoGen plant at Hudson Yards serves all the buildings in the Eastern Railyards development. The buildings energy needs are met with Cogen as well as the buildings own infrastructure. It’s a complex system that requires a master control room to keep everything operating smoothly.

“We needed to set up a control center that’s more typical of a power plant and a district energy plant rather than a typical New York City skyscraper,” Lanzillotto said.

Nick had a vision for this control center. Well into the center’s development, he realized his vision wasn’t being achieved. That’s when he discovered Winsted.

“I happened to visit Winsted website and saw images of control room layouts, they just had the right feel,” Lanzillotto said. “That’s when we brought Winsted into the project.”

A SEAMLESS PROCESS – FROM CONCEPT TO INSTALLATION

From concept to installation, the setup was smooth and seamless. So much so, that Lanzillotto wished other Hudson Yards projects would follow suit.

“If the whole project went as easy our work with Winsted, it would’ve been great,” Lanzillotto said. “The Winsted team was wonderful to work with. From rendering to layout, to determining the right components, all the way to installation, it all went very smooth.

In total, the CoGen plant’s control room contains five workstations, each with four monitors. An 8’ x 16’ video board stands in front of the workstations. Outside of the control room sits the information room with a single technician workstation, filing cabinets, storage cabinets and a blueprint-reading table with additional storage.

“They made it very easy for us,” said Nick. “Because it was so seamless, we worked with Winstead on a fire command center that also went very well.”

This article originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Security Today.

About the Author

Randy Smith is the president of The Winsted Corp.

Featured

  • Achieving Clear Audio

    In today’s ever-changing world of security and risk management, effective communication via an intercom and door entry communication system is a critical communication tool to keep a facility’s staff, visitors and vendors safe. Read Now

  • Beyond Apps: Access Control for Today’s Residents

    The modern resident lives in an app-saturated world. From banking to grocery delivery, fitness tracking to ridesharing, nearly every service demands another download. But when it comes to accessing the place you live, most people do not want to clutter their phone with yet another app, especially if its only purpose is to open a door. Read Now

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

  • AI Used as Part of Sophisticated Espionage Campaign

    A cybersecurity inflection point has been reached in which AI models has become genuinely useful in cybersecurity operation. But to no surprise, they can used for both good works and ill will. Systemic evaluations show cyber capabilities double in six months, and they have been tracking real-world cyberattacks showing how malicious actors were using AI capabilities. These capabilities were predicted and are expected to evolve, but what stood out for researchers was how quickly they have done so, at scale. Read Now

  • Why the Future of Video Security Is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reasons. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.