Federal Research Center at White Oak

The Federal Research Center at White Oak is a state-of-the-art 3.9 million square foot, $1.5 billion Food and Drug Administration office and lab compound built by the General Services Administration. The campus is located on the site formerly occupied by the Naval Surface Warfare Center. The final build-out of the campus will be comprised of five groups of interconnected buildings and their shared infrastructure.

FDA Federal Research Center Gets Sustainable

The Customer

Federal Research Center at White Oak, Montgomery County, MD

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the General Services Administration (GSA) are working to consolidate FDA operations with a focus on energy efficiency, reliable infrastructure and cost reduction

The Problem

Dynamic environment - a blending of ESPC projects with new construction was necessary for a positive result

FDA was housed in leased facilities that did not adequately support the goal of its critical mission
FDA’s facility requirements and evolving federal energy and sustainability mandates were complicating progress while the campus was being constructed
Using traditional funding for energy infrastructure development would delay FDA’s move to world-class facilities
A series of ESPC projects were used to reduce costs and provide reliable, energy efficient infrastructure to the new buildings on the White Oak campus
ESPC approach provided flexibility to address changes in facilities acquisition timing and energy requirements

Honeywell Solution

Develop and construct a combined heating and power central utilities plant

The facility would generate electricity primarily though a dual-fueled reciprocating engine and multiple gas turbines, as well as solar energy solutions
Power, heating and cooling needs of the entire campus were designed with expansion in mind
In addition to the operation and maintenance of the central plant, Honeywell provides total operations and maintenance for all White Oak campus buildings
Honeywell identified the following solutions: energy infrastructure master planning, establishment of a microgrid, critical load redundancy/firm capacity, demand response capability, energy VE of building designs, phased energy infrastructure development, adaptive reuse of a historic building and support for building LEED certification

The Results

A performance contract of 20 years was initiated with a guarantee to recoup investments

Reduced first-cost to government
Reduced recurring costs to government
More energy efficient campus
Fixed accountability for systems performance
Flexibility to meet evolving program requirements
Enhanced energy security

Energy and environmental benefits

Expected Annual Energy Savings:
- 640,000 MBtu (Current)
- 275,000 MBtu (In Construction)
Expected Annual Pollution Prevention:
- 50,000 metric tons CO2 equivalent (Current)
- 22,000 metric tons CO2 equivalent (In Construction)

Operations Consolidation

“Through the agreement, we’re able to invest additional funds at the White Oak campus, creating the best environment for the FDA and surrounding community, and we’re guaranteed to recoup that investment, which demonstrates the benefits of this type of public-private cooperation.”

—Shapour Ebadi, Director Office of Campus Development, GSA

Honeywell Building Solutions White Oak Project Technical Data and Specs

Central Plant Equipment

Generation Equipment/Systems (Current)

One 5.8 MW dual fuel engine-driven generator
Four 4.5 MW turbine-generators
One 2 MW standby diesel generator
30 kW photovoltaic array
Integrated plant controls and building automation systems

(In Construction)

Two 7.5 MW turbine-generators (dual fuel)
One 4.5 MW turbine-generator (natural gas only)
One 5 MW steam turbine-generator
Two 2.25 MW diesel black-start generators
Integrated plant controls and building automation system expansion

Cooling (Current)

Three 1,980 ton electric centrifugal chillers
Two 1,130 ton absorption chillers
Two 1,130 ton electric centrifugal chillers

(In Construction)

Three 2,500 ton electric centrifugal chillers
2 million gallon thermal energy storage

Heating (Current)

Three 10 MMBtu/hr dual fuel hot water boilers
52 MMBtu/hr heat recovery boilers

(In Construction)

132,000 PPH heat recovery steam generators
25,000 PPH dual fuel steam boiler

Distribution (Current)

Hydronic and electric distribution systems

(In Construction)

Hydronic and electric distribution systems expansion
Steam distribution system

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