Life cycle assessment of utility options at a Federal facility
The utility options study addressed in this paper was conducted to identify the preferred option for providing continued supply of electricity and steam for a Department of Energy (DOE) complex located in the Southeast US. This complex, which covers an area of 300 square miles, serves as a nuclear weapons material processing facility. Reliable steam and electrical supply is critical to the mission of the facility. The process requirements for this complex are served by a number of boilers located at various areas within the complex. These boilers are interconnected with 10- to 24-inch inter-area steam lines. The total capacity of all boilers exceeds 1.5 million pounds per hour of steam. The largest powerhouse supplies both steam and electricity for use at the site. It has four boilers of 330 kpph each and an electric generation capacity of 65 MW. In addition to being supplied with electricity cogenerated by the main powerhouse, the complex also purchases power from an adjacent power company. The main powerhouse has been in service for over 40 years and virtually all major equipment dates to the original installation. Numerous proposed upgrades have been deferred over the years as a result of budget constraints and priority considerations. Consequently, the main powerhouse is expensive to operate and difficult to maintain. Several technical and financial options were considered. This paper deals with the financing of the project and examines two of the recently evaluated options for the powerhouse. The paper concludes that the Federal decision-making process is complex, lengthy, and typically requires a continuous series of reviews and re-evaluations of options.
- OSTI ID:
- 227102
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-951173--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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