Local News in Brief : Camarillo State Hospital Plans $32-Million Heat, Power Plant
A $32-million contract has been awarded to build an energy-saving co-generation plant at Camarillo State Hospital, which contractors say will save the equivalent of 117,000 barrels of oil a year.
Receiving the contract was Impell Corp., a Walnut Creek-based subsidiary of Combustion Engineering of Stamford, Conn. The contract was awarded by O. L. S. Energy of Camarillo, which is overseeing the project for the state.
The system is expected to be in place at the state mental hospital late next year.
A co-generation system makes simultaneous use of heat and power generated by a single source. In the hospital’s system, a gas-fired plant will produce electricity for the hospital’s power needs and steam that will be used to heat rooms and water.
Officials said the 28-megawatt system, which will replace a steam plant, will meet all of the hospital’s energy needs. Surplus electricity generated by the system will be sold to Southern California Edison.
The amount of money saved by the hospital will depend on future energy prices. Based on current oil prices of about $15 a barrel, the 117,000 barrels expected to be saved annually are worth $1.8 million.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
