Delivering Sustainable and Resilient Campus and District Energy Infrastructure


 
By generating and storing electricity and heat directly at your own facility, you can save money and reduce the uncertainty associated with fuel prices. Additionally, you gain greater control over the availability of clean energy and how it gets integrated into your processes. Our team can help you save energy and reduce operating costs by improving efficiency and capturing usable energy that would otherwise be wasted.
 
Clean on-site energy technologies offer facility owners in the industrial sector a practical solution to reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels by generating electricity and heat from flexible, reliable, and affordable energy resources.

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MULTIDISCIPLINE PROFESSIONALS

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IN POWER DESIGN FIRMS
(ENR 2024)

Identify the Right Solutions for Your Project Needs

Distributed Energy Resources

Sustainable Solutions

EPC Projects

Master Planning

Renewable Power Solutions

Critical Utility Infrastructure

Streamlining Distributed Energy Resources

We provide planning, design, construction and startup services for DER systems in campus settings and on industrial sites. By thoroughly evaluating the factors affecting a particular site, we can help determine the most effective and advantageous implementation, as well as identify and resolve the complexities that come with integrating DER. Our staff includes economic and financial analysts as well as power supply planners to address the potential impacts on ratepayers, communities and system loads.

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Projects

Data Center Microgrid

Burns & McDonnell

Our team completed a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) glare study as well as provided design, construction and commissioning services for a microgrid serving the Snohomish County Public Utility District No. 1’s office, data center and Clean Energy Technology Center in Arlington, Washington.

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Services

Campus Energy

Burns & McDonnell

The essential functions that take place inside your campus facilities place tremendous demand on your utilities. You must be able to meet those needs under extreme conditions, so your generation facilities and power distribution systems must be reliable and resilient. Meanwhile, management staff is under continuous pressure to reduce operational costs, save energy and plan for facility growth. Balancing those demands requires careful planning and development of sound strategies.

Services

CHP/Cogeneration

Burns & McDonnell

Cogeneration, or combined heat and power (CHP), systems make efficient use of the fuel you put into them. Power generation has been a foundation of our firm for more than a century, and we know cogeneration, drawing on deep experience and understanding of the fast and frequent changes in the field.

Services

Microgrids

Burns & McDonnell

Reliability is perhaps the most important factor in power supply. Microgrids have become a valued solution to combat threats — both natural and manmade — to mission-critical facilities. They integrate multiple local generation and storage assets whether connected to the grid or islanded. Built-in redundancies and advanced controls can help avoid prolonged outages while improving generation efficiency.

Service Feature

Delivering Today’s High-Performance Intelligent Buildings

Burns & McDonnell

High-performance buildings rely on sophisticated, connected controls for heating, air conditioning, energy management, lighting and other systems. Many of these control systems function in proprietary silos, with little interoperability and integration. Modernizing control systems, including open architectures, and implementing a master systems integration strategy that utilizes advanced building, connected IP controls provides owners and operators the connectivity and access to the data required to manage, operate and control buildings in today’s environment.

Resiliency

The Microgrid Integration in Action

Burns & McDonnell

Smart cities are founded on smart energy infrastructure, representing the interconnection of microgrids working together to improve system resilience, reduce costs and enable a low- to no-carbon future.

White Paper

Creating a Contingency Plan Gives a Road Map During Emergencies

Burns & McDonnell

Sudden emergencies on college campuses can halt day-to-day operations and result in unplanned expenses. But there’s a way to prepare for the problems before they happen.

Service Feature

Modular Substations Provide Adaptable Approach

Burns & McDonnell

Across the transmission and distribution industry, identifying the right solution is often dependent on schedule and load/generation constraints needed to meet demand. Modular substations can provide an alternative to permanent and mobile substations to meet your unique needs.

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Prioritizing Sustainable Solutions

Beyond complying with changing rules and regulations, we are passionate about bringing sustainable solutions to the table. For our clients, we provide sustainability initiatives and come fully equipped with appropriate, actionable strategies to protect your community and the environment. We help our clients identify, prioritize and implement sustainability initiatives and improvements through offering a range of solutions, including internal emissions reductions, material management, and sustainable siting and development. Whether helping our clients prepare for extreme weather events, decarbonize energy portfolios or remediate previous environmental damage, we support efforts to build a sustainable future.

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Being resourceful stewards of our environment is a responsibility we take seriously with every project pursued. We understand the importance of our clients' environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and work to develop future-focused solutions across all industries, including oil and gas facilities, local governments and manufacturers, and transportation and utilities. We are proud to serve as a trusted partner for those striving toward sustainable initiatives.

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Blog

Powering Future Manufacturing With Decarbonized Industrial Operations

Burns & McDonnell

Industrial manufacturers are exploring how to decarbonize assets and processes, a key step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainability.

Case Study

As-Needed Energy Services to Drive Sustainable Port Operations

Burns & McDonnell

The San Diego Unified Port District has embraced a leadership role in establishing operations that reduce emissions and improve air quality. To help determine the right projects to further this mission, the District turned to our team for a multiyear, as-needed energy services contract.

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Executing Critical EPC Projects

Utilizing a construction-first mindset means we deliver integrated, sustainable and customer-driven solutions that drive businesses forward. Our in-house construction professionals are well-versed in effective project delivery — traditional, fast-track and complex design-build. To streamline everything from permitting and pre-capital consulting to startup and commissioning, our integrated team quickly adapts to changing regulations, managing stakeholder engagement and keeping projects safely on track. We offer a single point of accountability, providing a team that is willing to dig into the details throughout the entire project life cycle, delivering the infrastructure solutions you need.

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Blog

Streamlining the Permitting Process: Integrated EPC for Renewable Projects

Burns & McDonnell

An integrated engineer-procure-construct (EPC) team provides the varied professional experience needed for long-term planning of utility-scale renewables.

News

Construction Market Update

Burns & McDonnell

Video

Leveling Up: A Job Site Built for the Future

Burns & McDonnell

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Mastering Master Planning

Utility master plans are among the most critical tools for important elements of campus infrastructure systems. Without an actionable master plan in place, campus systems are flying blind, reacting to increased demands on utility systems as they come. Each rushed decision impacts the next and creates cascading effects. The good news? With upfront planning today, utility master plans can help campuses achieve big paybacks tomorrow — and can update systems to run more efficiently and cleanly.

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PROJECT

Utility Master Plan/Franklin Heating Station Updates

Burns & McDonnell

The Franklin Heating Station — the power behind the Mayo Clinic’s reliable daily operations — was due for an upgrade to continue delivering the optimal utility service it’s known for.

Article

Staying a Step Ahead

Burns & McDonnell

Avoiding risk and optimizing for the future with utility master planning.

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Implementing Renewable Power Solutions

Meet your operational and sustainability goals with cost-effective infrastructure and renewable energy projects. A fully integrated team under one roof can be the key to predictable results in renewable utility infrastructure projects. From project development, procurement and permitting to interconnection, construction and startup, a fully integrated partner can be your competitive advantage.

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Video

Charging Forward With Clean Energy

BenchMark

Achieving clean energy goals is rapidly becoming a cost of doing business. Learn how industrial facilities can respond to these mounting pressures and develop a road map to implement sustainable solutions.

White Paper

Nuclear Microreactors Could Be Zero-Carbon Solution for Campus District Energy Systems

Burns & McDonnell

Nuclear energy is emerging as a promising solution to the challenge of decarbonizing fossil fuel-based district energy systems, while preserving the reliability and resilience these systems have long been known for. Now with more than a dozen different designs in various stages of development, advanced microreactor technologies are attracting attention due to the potential to deliver scalable solutions for district energy applications.

Blog

Solid Backing: Central Plant, Utility Infrastructure Resiliency Critical to Hospital Operations, Patient Safety

Burns & McDonnell

Natural disasters challenge the ability to provide reliable power to critical healthcare facilities. Effective utility master planning can see big returns.

White Paper

Chilled Water Thermal Energy Storage and Management Systems Provide Opportunities to Optimize Renewables

Burns & McDonnell

Employing thermal energy storage (TES) technologies can improve flexibility when auxiliary power associated with energy storage is utilized. This can optimize battery performance, resulting in longer life cycles.

Blog

Power Up: Considerations to Help Understand the Potential of Cogeneration

Burns & McDonnell

When contemplating the modification of a facility with cogeneration, key considerations include costs, incentives and sustainability.

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CLIENT SATISFACTION REPORT

Client Satisfaction Report:  Church & Dwight

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Providing Critical Utility Infrastructure

Without power flowing through our communities and businesses, our nation would grind to a halt. From electricity to oil and natural gas, the generation, transmission and distribution of energy is vital to every critical infrastructure sector. We have experience in all aspects of delivering a stable energy supply for households, businesses, transportation and more, and understand this industry’s powerful responsibility to support and protect. We are ready to help you in that mission.

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Hear about our work on the Texas Medical Center campus

Case Study

A District Energy System Is Bigger in Texas

Burns & McDonnell

It takes the biggest district energy system in North America to deliver reliable, chilled water and steam to the world’s largest medical center. But what happens when demand for these critical services doubles? In 2005, the Texas Medical Center needed to update its capacity; today, it operates a central plant that is modeled for more efficiency, flexibility and reliability.

Case Study

Keeping the Power On During Future Disasters

Burns & McDonnell

PROJECT

New Campus Central Utility Plant

Burns & McDonnell

Case Study

Charting a Clear Path Toward Carbon Neutrality

Burns & McDonnell

PROJECT

Central Plant Master Plan Implementation

Burns & McDonnell

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Contact

Tom Parker

OnSite Energy & Power Director

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Background

Tom Parker

OnSite Energy & Power Director

  Connect on LinkedIn


Explore Additional Solutions

CARBON CAPTURE, UTILIZATION & STORAGE SOLUTIONS

As momentum grows to reduce carbon footprints, scalable solutions are key to meet decarbonization goals. Increasing requirements in both Canada and the U.S. are pushing for greater environmental standards.

EXPERIENCE HIGH DESIGN AND QUALITY BUILD

Thoughtful projects can transform a community and redefine a culture, intimately shaping how people live, work, play, learn and heal.

Designing and Building Facilities That Nourish the Future

Modern facilities help manufacturers deliver quality food and beverages to consumers.

Power Ahead With Electrification

The transition to electric vehicles is rapidly accelerating. Preparing the infrastructure to support electrification efforts — including expanding the capacity of the electric grid — is essential to success.

Strong, Smart, Sustainable: Modernizing the Grid

The electric power industry is rapidly transforming as it responds to growth in distributed generation, the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations, increased reliability and resiliency requirements, and more.

Reliable Facilities for Your Trusted Consumer Brands

Cosmetics, Home Care, Packaging, Personal Care, Pet Care, Pulp and Paper, Specialty/Fine Chemicals

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Making Our Clients Successful

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At this time, Burns & McDonnell is not offering pure architectural services in the states of Illinois, Montana, New Hampshire or New Jersey. We may, however, provide design-build services for architectural projects.