energy systems integration facility fueled by innovative...

National Renewable Energy Laboratory – Energy Systems Integration Facility: PROJECT

Best Building Project Over $70 Million: CATEGORY

Energy Systems Integration Facility fueled by Innovative Design

NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) provides laboratory and office space for

approximately 200 NREL researchers and support staff. The 182,500 sqft building is

pursuing and is composed of three distinct parts – Office, LEED Platinum certification

Data Center and High-Bay Laboratories. ESIF houses research within 15 laboratories

focused on Electrical, Thermal and Fuel energy sources to overcome challenges related to

the interconnection of distributed energy systems and the integration of renewable

energy technologies into the electricity grid. The 5-acre site falls 45’ from top to bottom

and 25’ from side to side which proved to be logistically challenging to coordinate

construction of a building that stair-stepped up hill.

Unique Characteristics of the ESIF Project:

• DOE/NREL chose a 2-step design build Design Build Performance Contracting:

procurement process based on qualifications and technical criteria. The 3

shortlisted teams had only 8 weeks to respond to the 920 page RFP and provide a

robust submission package that included conceptual design documents, estimate,

schedule, and numerous other requirements. The winning team was chosen using

a best value selection process.

The team responded to the RFP with no design schematics or bridging documents.

ESIF began in June 2010 with a partnering session that assembled the stakeholders

to develop a team charter which defined the project, confirmed commitments,

identified key parties and established partnering metrics. In a highly intensive,

collaborative effort with NREL/DOE, the team achieved budget and maintained the

program intent.

Using a cloud-based virtual environment to review design documents with

NREL/DOE, the team fielded and tracked over 6,000+ comments through

. This allowed users not accustomed to reading two dimensional resolution

documents to view their workspaces in a 3D virtual environment.



• Originally Energy Performance:

envisioned to achieve LEED Gold the

project is on track for LEED Platinum.

The office building boasts a highly

calibrated envelope, various types of

glazing systems to minimize the

transmission of heat, daylighting

harvesting and delivery devices, low

velocity active chilled beams, and

under floor air ventilation with

operable windows and convection

shafts. This resulted in staggering low energy consumption rate (EUI) of 23.0

kBTU/sf/yr, which is for office buildings. 74% below the national average

The data center achieves a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.04 and an

For the laboratories the energy savings energy usage effectiveness (EUE) of 0.7.

goals were set 30% below ASHRAE 90.1-2007.

• The DOE/NREL’s expectations are for their project teams to Safety Awareness:

strive two levels above OSHA compliance, which they term as Superior Safety

Performance. Of the 82 weekly safety audits conducted, the project team achieved

an 83% excellent to superior rating. No other project on NREL’s campus had

The safety staff achieved more superior safety ratings than the ESIF project.

included three safety professionals with an average of 12 years of construction

safety experience. Prior to being permitted to work on the project each day,

subcontractors were required to provide a detailed Plan of the Day and Activity

Hazard Analysis. The . staff evaluated over 5,600 POD/AHAs

• Megawatt-scale power-in-the-Hardware-in-the-Loop at Megawatt-Scale Power:

loop allows researchers and manufacturers to conduct integration tests at full

power and actual load levels in real-time simulations and evaluate component and

system performance before going to market.



• Petascale (one million billion High Performance Computing Data Center (HPCDC):

calculations per minute) computing at the Data Center enables unprecedented

large-scale modeling and simulation of material properties, processes, and fully

integrated systems that would otherwise be too expensive, too dangerous, or even

impossible to study by direct experimentation.

The data center’s mechanical system takes advantage of the fact that liquid has

. Pumps approximately 1000 times the cooling capacity of fans circulating air

circulating liquid cooling are a much more efficient approach. Starting at

approximately 75˚F, warm liquid is circulated through heat exchangers in the HPC

system to efficiently capture waste heat. The system heats the liquid to 95˚F to be

used as the primary source of heating the laboratories and office space as well as

exported beyond the ESIF building for wider use by the NREL campus. The system

also supports exterior snow-melt systems under walkways. Waste heat not used

by the system is rejected via evaporative cooling towers.

A key component to the mechanical design was an open plenum for conditioning

the Data Center. Traditional under-floor air systems create a small plenum space



between access floor and a slab on metal

deck over structural steel framing. The

design of this data center created a

plenum to the mechanical room 16’ below

the data center floor. To do this, the slab

on metal deck was omitted and the access

floor pedestals are welded directly to the

top chord of steel joists. The use of an

open plenum created a safety issue if an

NREL employee had to remove an access

floor panel. The team was tasked with

providing a safety mechanism to prevent a

fall hazard if an access floor panel was

removed. It had to have the capacity to

support a person falling through the

opening but would not inhibit airflow from

the space below. The solution was to use

flat sheets of welded wire fabric welded

directly to the top of the steel joists. A non-typical use of welded wire fabric, the

team was required to load test a mockup of the safety mesh system to substantiate

its use as fall protection. The welding of the mesh was inspected by the DOE’s 3rd

party inspection agency. After two successful load tests the welds and mesh

material passed inspection.

• Each of the 15 labs has its own niche with specialized Uniquely Connected:

equipment and functionality fostering research on all aspects of energy integration.

The Research Electrical Distribution Bus (REDB), the ultimate power integration

circuit, is made up of two AC and two DC ring buses that connect multiple sources

of energy and interconnect "plug-and-play" testing components in all the labs.

Research partners can literally plug in and test new energy technologies on real

and simulated power systems before hooking them up to the grid.

The open plenum can be seen in the bottom of the image



This system had never before been built and was a monumental task for the team

to design the prototype, test and verify before application.

• A key element to the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA):

testing of power systems and components is

the SCADA, which serves as the computer

control system for the REDB. The SCADA

monitors and controls the REDB operations

for safety and gathers real-time, high-

resolution data for collaboration and

visualization. In addition, the SCADA will

support a large visualization screen in the

control room allowing researchers and

partners to watch the experiment in real-

time. Researchers can see the electrical bus,

close switches, checkout grid simulators as

well as have the ability to control the systems

on portions of the REBD that are checked out

specifically to them.

• Analysis and Data Analysis and Visualization:

visualization capabilities at the ESIF go

beyond what is found in a typical utility

operations center. Fully integrated with

hardware-in-the-loop at power capabilities,

an electrical distribution bus, a SCADA

system, and petascale computing, the ESIF

allows researchers and NREL partners to

visualize complex systems and operations in

a completely virtual environment.



• A design build, fast track project requires strong Intense Trade Collaboration:

communication and partnership. The preliminary design completion in December

2010 included an early structural package that was used to compete the structural

steel scope. The Power Systems Integration Laboratory (PSIL) is one of the largest

laboratory spaces requiring a control room suspended from the precast roof

framing above the laboratory floor. After structural steel was erected but before

the concrete slab on metal deck had been placed, the projection equipment in the

PSIL control room was changed. The new equipment required the PSIL control

room to become 9’ larger in one direction. Coordination between the precast,

steel and concrete trades allowed the team to accommodate the necessary

changes.

The north and south elevations of the office included a ribbon window assembly.

The window assembly has a consistent head elevation and a variable sill elevation.

The design required structural steel elements to be interwoven with the window

mullions. The upfront coordination between the window and steel subcontractors

expedited this portion of the project, allowing the window frames to be installed

without conflict.

The steel erector and precast erector coordinated work and cross-performed each

other’s scopes of work within the laboratories, bridge cranes, stairs and roof tops to

expedite the sequence of activities.

• The project was envisioned as a national Advancing Renewable Energy Education:

and international research magnet and think-tank that engages industry,

universities and other federal labs in transforming the nation’s power grid through

integration of clean power technologies. It serves as a showcase of sustainability

, and is designed with tour corridors with large for visitors from around the world

viewing windows on all three floors of the lab building. While most buildings hide

their systems in the basement, the ESIF uses color coding to identify the exposed



piping, ductwork and electrical systems making them viewable and exposed so

their role can be featured on the tour routes.

As a national asset, ESIF will

provide the research,

engineering, design, testing and

analysis of components and

systems to enable economic,

reliable integration of renewable

electricity generation, fuel

production, storage, and

building efficiency technologies

with the U.S. fuels and electricity

delivery infrastructures.

energy systems integration facility fueled by innovative...

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