Collins Square's Trigeneration Energy System by Optimal Group

The Challenge

When the Walker Corporation started planning the new Collins Square development they decided it should lead the way in best practice commercial building green design and efficiency.

The Optimal Group helped them achieve this, along with exceeding the 5 star NABERS rating. The cornerstone of this plan was a modern embedded trigeneration system where each of the 5 towers making up Collins Square could generate part of its own electrical demand using natural gas. The heat normally wasted in power generation is captured and used to heat and cool the building, significantly reducing the carbon footprint and energy costs for the building.

Many consultants can attest to the engineering and operational challenges of designing a trigeneration system for a building, as the actual electrical and thermal loads of a building can differ significantly from predicted models. If the generation system selected is not flexible and able to adapt to changing building demands, the financial and environmental benefits underpinning the decision for trigeneration will not be realised, or potentially the system may not operate.

The challenge was to build a flexible and efficient trigeneration system which would adapt to seasonal variations in the buildings energy profile, as well as allow the building owners to consider future energy saving initiatives, such as integrating solar.

Capstone Microturbine Technology

At each building a C600 (600 kW) Capstone turbine provides the clean energy generation, and unlike traditional generation systems, the highly flexible Microturbine is a digital inverter-based power generator, the same technology as solar PV and battery energy storage systems. This allows the turbine to operate without restriction during low electrical demand, as the C600 is a modular system comprising three 200 kW turbine units, provides significant redundancy to ensure the site can meet its NABERS targets.

Capstone Microturbines were selected for their low noise, no vibration, and their ability to meet the customer's sustainability and NOx emission targets. Preference was also given to the Microturbines in order to keep the power plant and infrastructure consistent across the precinct.

"Capstone's Microturbines have proven to be very reliable on site and are having a big impact on the site's energy performance," said Chris White, Operations Manager at Walkers Corporation. "All of our Microturbines consistently run across the precinct," added White.

With each tower meeting or exceeding a 5 star NABERS efficiency rating, the Collins Square project serves as a model establishment and landmark for Melbourne CBD sustainability.

Get in touch with Optimal Group to dicuss trigeneration for your next project.

Related Projects

Financial incentives for chiller upgrade Art Gallery of New South Wales

Key outcomes
Energy Conservation’s Measurement and Verification (M&V) and certificate creation services enabled the Art Gallery of New South Wales to achieve:

Funding of over $100,000 through the creation of more than 12,000 Energy Savings Certificates under NSW Energy Savings Scheme (ESS).
Accurate determination of annual savings of 1,200 Megawatt-hours, representing 15% of Gallery consumption. This equates to annual savings of $140,000 in energy costs and over 1200 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions.

View Case Study

Evo Energy Turns Heat Green at WhiteWater World

Key Outcomes

Reduction in running costs by over 70%
Reduction in carbon emissions by over 35%

Evo Energy installed the largest heat pump system in Australia, with a cutting-edge system upgrade at the popular tourist theme park, WhiteWater World, delivered unparalleled energy efficiencies and helped reduce carbon emissions.

View Case Study

Evo Energy Helps Rivalea to Reduce Environmental Footprint with Custom-Built Biogas Generator

Key Outcomes

Generates around 25% of the site’s power per year
Offsets over 28,000 per annum tons of CO2 equivalent emissions from grid
Methane emissions avoided
Energy efficiency of up to 90%

Rivalea, one of Australia’s leading agri-food companies, partnered with Evo Energy minimise their environmental footprint and reduce energy consumption, with the installation of a custom-built biogas generator.

View Case Study

Cogeneration Heating Aquatic Centre

Key Outcomes

$111,000 per year in energy costs
1,224 tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions per year (or the equivalent annual emissions of over 300 cars).

Project Summary

The Cardinia Life health and recreational facility was responsible for a largest portion of greenhouse gas emissions in the the Cardinia district (Victoria). Evo Energy Technologies provided a solution which included an update to the facilties while maximumising energy efficiency and achieving cost savings.

View Case Study

Who can accurately measure flow without cutting the pipe? Flowservices can

Key Outcomes

Much higher accuracy and repeatability achieved with non-intrusive clamp-on technology compared to the previously installed open channel meter
3 to 4 times more cost effective than in line flow meter options
Maintenance-free with no moving parts or water contact
Better measurement performance than the other clamp-on flow meters tested by the customer
Ability to offer 80m sensor cable without need of a junction box
Great local service and support through Flowservices (FLEXIM distributor)

Business Problem

MidCoast Water wanted to improve the flow monitoring of water that was pumped from their Bootawa dam to the Bootawa Water Treatment Plant. They engaged Floservices to design a cost-efficient solution in the form of clamp-on ultrasound flow measurement.

View Case Study

Meat Production Turning Waste Into Biogas

Key Outcomes

Total project value: €3 million
Implementation of biogas plant where no source of existing anaerobic bacteria was available
Full operating load being digested into biogas plant
Significant reduction in greenhouse gas, odour emissions and solid waste disposal
70% reduction in bunker oil consumption and market exposure

The Project

Finn Biogas worked with their client to build an on-site biogas plant converting manure, rumen content, fatty waste and blood into biogas which is now used to fire an on-site boiler for rendering operations.