Technical Tours

Technical Tours


Technical Tours will visit three local district energy facilities on Friday, February 20, 2026. 

Tour Schedule

IDEA is pleased to expand it's tour offerings this year with three tours of local district energy systems at Georgetown, Gaulladet, and George Washington Universities.
All Technical Tours will begin with a Breakfast & Technical Tour Orientation at 7:30am at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Enjoy a hot breakfast while tour hosts provide a brief series of overview presentations highlighting the systems, facilities, and key learning objectives you’ll experience later in the day.
 
At approximately 9:00 am, participants will depart the Gaylord via chartered buses for their selected technical tours. Each tour will offer behind-the-scenes access, on-site discussions with local experts, and real-world examples of innovative district energy and decarbonization strategies in practice.
 
At the conclusion of the tours, buses will return participants to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) for convenient afternoon departures.

Friday, February 20, 2026
Schedule
7:30 am – 9:00 am: Breakfast meeting at Gaylord National with short overview presentations.
9:10 am: Buses depart the hotel to go to tour locations.
12:00 pm: Tour B will drop off at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and then return to hotel
1:15 pm: Tour A will drop off at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and then return to hotel
Drop off times are approximate and subject to change. 

Tour A - Georgetown University & Gallaudet University


Georgetown University has a district energy system with a primary central heating and cooling plant and a medium voltage distribution network that serves over 70 buildings, including Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. IDEA conference participants are invited to tour the Central Utility Plant (CUP), a heating and cooling plant that was brought online in 1964 and has been continuously expanded, upgraded, and kept operational since then, including new chillers and cooling towers installed in 2025. The plant has been operated by Georgetown Energy Partners, an entity comprising ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure, since 2021. The CUP provides steam and chilled water to the campus using four (4) 100,000 lb/hr boilers and over 20,000 tons of cooling. A 2-million-gallon thermal storage tank supplements the CUP. Tour participants will also be able to see the university’s progress towards a more-efficient hot water system through landmark distribution projects.
 
Georgetown University is a private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic institution of higher education in the United States, the oldest university in Washington, D.C., and the nation's first federally chartered university.

Additional resources:
Georgetown University Utilities webpage
Georgetown Energy Partners webpage


Gallaudet University has partnered with Scale Microgrid Solutions and Urban Ingenuity to build a microgrid that is customized to Gallaudet’s needs.  The Gallaudet microgrid has been operating since January 2025 as a localized energy system that can operate independently (island) from the main power grid. This system parallels Pepco’s grid to meet most of the university’s daily electricity demand, enabling Gallaudet to reduce its reliance on

traditional energy sources and maintain power during outages, therefore improving

both sustainability and resilience.

It includes:

• 1.7 megawatts (MW) of solar panels installed so far across campus buildings

• A 1.2 MW / 2.6 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery system providing grid services to both the microgrid and the larger grid

• A 4.5 MW combined heat and power (CHP) system with three 1.5 MW reciprocating engines that provide electricity, steam, hot water and cooling (via absorption chilling).

The solar resources operate through the District’s community solar program, enabling Gallaudet to offer utility bill credits to approximately 400 nearby homes and businesses. Participants save 10% on their electricity bills, making clean energy more accessible and affordable.

Tour B - George Washington University

Hidden in the basement of Ross Hall, George Washington University’s co-generation (co-gen) plant is both powerful and creatively designed—bringing unique advantages and challenges that make it an inspiring example of urban energy innovation. This 4.2 MW system produces power for over 1.1 million square feet of campus space, keeping our classrooms, research labs, residence halls, and essential operations running reliably and efficiently around the clock.
 
We’ve recently enhanced performance with an advanced co-gen automation system that boosts output, improves efficiency, and strengthens demand‐response capabilities.
 
But GW is doing more than generating energy—we’re studying it. Our campus serves as a living laboratory through the Foggy Bottom Living Lab project. Using Ross Hall’s co-gen plant, rooftop solar, solar thermal, battery and thermal storage, and an integrated energy management system, students and faculty analyze how a complex urban energy system responds to stressors like heat waves, grid outages, and fluctuating load demands. GW Today
 
Take a tour of this co-generation facility—and the buildings it serves—to see firsthand how GW is powering not just our campus, but bold ideas, hands-on learning, and a cleaner, smarter future.