Energy plant creates greater efficiencies for Corning facilities
December 2008
Over the past year, Corning has been creating enough of its own energy to efficiently power at least eight buildings in and around its Houghton Park complex in Corning, N.Y. The new Cogeneration (CoGen) plant uses a remarkable system of capturing and recovering heat, eliminating energy waste and paving the way for a great future in energy conservation.
Officially known as the Northside Powerhouse, Corning’s CoGen facility is an initiative within the Global Energy Management (GEM) program. The first of its kind for Corning, the CoGen plant uses natural gas to create additional sources of energy – thus cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions and helping Corning get the highest possible return on its natural gas investment.
While it doesn’t provide all the energy its neighboring buildings use, the CoGen station has significantly reduced Corning’s dependence on public utilities since it began steam operations in early March 2008 and electrical generation in June. The GEM team will use the CoGen station’s performance over time to track annual cost- and energy-savings patterns.
Looking toward the future, Corning is evaluating a number of locations around the world to implement more CoGen plants based on the success of the first combined heating and power facility.
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