A TEXAS-SIZED DISTRICT ENERGYSYSTEM

摘要

A ugust in Houston can be hot, and in 2010, it was the hottest on record. On Aug. 23, demand on the Texas electrical grid hit an all-time high of nearly 66,000 MW. But at the 201-acre main campus of the Texas Medical Center, the leaders of Thermal Energy Corp. (TECO) weren't sweating over how soaring electricity prices or the threat of blackouts might affect their district energy system, which serves 75 percent of campus building space. Even as the temperature outside soared, TECO didn't need to pull a single watt of electricity from the grid.