The Wilhelm Construction team engineered, procured, and constructed a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) facility for Duke Energy in West Lafayette, IN. This project was executed in conjunction with I.C. Thomasson Associates Inc., ARSEE, and Schneider, and was one of Wilhelm’s first industrial engineer/procure/construct (EPC) turnkey projects to date.

The CHP system consists of a 15.5-megawatt (MW) combustion turbine generator with a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and a duct burner for supplemental firing of gas to increase the production of steam. As a result, the HRSG can produce 150,000 lbs./hr. of 775°F steam at 600 PSIG, which will be directed to the universities’ distribution system.
This system is configured with a diverter damper and bypass stack — which means it can still generate power even when the campus does not need steam and is housed in a new building which includes offices, restrooms/lockers, a breakroom, control room, IT room, and low voltage and medium voltage switchgear rooms to support Duke Energy’s CHP operations.

The plant also includes natural gas compression, a diesel black-start generator, a condensate storage system along with a new deaerator and boiler feed-water pumps, and is connected to the universities existing auxiliary systems for condensate return and make-up water.