POWER
Summary
The University of Washington needed to bring new life to its 1960s-era steam plant. Campus officials knew the priority for an upgrade would be a system with the ability to provide uninterrupted power during outage events.
Mark Kirschenbaum, the assistant director of campus utilities, noted the importance of backup power, and also the challenges faced with improving the decades-old plant. “It could be just a five-second loss of power, but it’s a five-hour recovery period,” said Kirschenbaum of dealing with the aging facility. The solution would be found with a system used by data centers, but one that had rarely been deployed on a college campus.
Stanley Consultants, known for its engineering expertise, created an extensive matrix to evaluate the feasibility of all possible options for upgrading the power plant. It was decided a Diesel Rotary Uninterruptible Power Supply, or DRUPS, system (shown above)—manufactured by HiTec, with an expected lifespan of 35 years—was the most economical and efficient option.
The DRUPS also has a side benefit from the rotational mass—increased voltage support in the electrical system. The new power plant’s value to the campus makes it a worthy recipient of POWER’s 2025 Reinvention Award.
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