Overview

Entech Engineering, Inc. (Entech) was contracted by the State of New Jersey to provide an energy audit and cogeneration study for the South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The goal of the audit was to identify potential energy conservation measures (ECMs) which will identify and quantify energy savings opportunities at the prison. In addition to identifying and quantifying ECMS, Entech was asked to consider applicable cogeneration (electric+ hot water) strategies for the prison. This study was the first step of the New Jersey Energy Savings Improvement Program (ESIP) and will be used to prepare and solcit bids from energy savings companies (ESCOs).

The scope of work also included the preparation of a metering package that allowed for the bidding and procurement of permanent building-level meters at the prison. Previously, the only meters that existed were the utility owned gas, water, and electric meters which only provided campus-level metering.

Then New Jersey Department of Corrections - South Woods State Prison is a 26-building, 1,300,320 square feet, correctional facility constructed in 1997, on an 85 acre campus, located in southern New Jersey. The correctional facility currently has an inmate population of 3,400 and a staff of approximately 1,000.

The facility includes an industrial building (I Building) which houses various industries and trades. These industries provide products for the State of New Jersey correctional facilities including meals for all of the other correctional facilities operated by the State of New Jersey.

The central utility plant provides high temperature hot water (HTHW) for space comfort, domestic water (DHW) heating, and chilled water (CHW) for space comfort cooling for the majority of the campus.

For this study, the campus energy usage and associated costs were estimated using in-house energy models, to evaluate potential ECMs. A total of ten (10) ECMs were utimately recommended, with an estimated annual savings of $3.4 million.
With construction costs after incentives at $19.5 million for ECMs, the simple payback period is 5.7 years. An ECM to install a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) microturbine was recommended as part of the cogeneration analysis.