Memory Lane: May 16, 2002

Posted

From the May 16, 2002 edition of The Wayne Herald:

Groundbreaking held for energy plant

Groundbreaking was held on Wednesday, May 1 for a renovation and addition to the energy plant on the Wayne State College campus. The $4 million project, including the purchase price of the plant, is planned for completion in late September, 2002.

Energy Systems Company of Omaha built the plant in 1960 and operated it until February 1, 2002, serving both the Wayne State College campus and Providence Medical Center. At that time, Wayne State took possession and a planned renovation is beginning on the facility.

The project will include a new addition and new siding over the entire building. Equipment improvements will include a new boiler, a changeover to new electrical centrifugal chillers and new cooling towers. In addition, new chilled water lines will be run from the energy plant to Rice Auditorium, which will improve the delivery of chilled water throughout the campus.

According to Dr. Sheila Stearns, Wayne State president, the renovated energy plant has been designed to meet the needs of the campus well into the future. With the increased capacity of the new chillers, the College will be able to add cooling to Rice Auditorium and to Neihardt Hall (residence hall) in the near future.

The City of Wayne has been instrumental in helping the College with the electrical needs of the plant and will be installing a new transformer that was purchased by the College. The plant has been designed to easily add an additional chiller in the longer term as the need arises. Energy efficiency will also be improved with the new facility.

Architect and engineer for the Project is Leo A. Daly Company of Omaha. Mechanical contractor is Ryan and Associates of Fremont, and general contractor is Otte Construction, Inc, or Wayne.