CHP contributes to major London refurbishment

Construction company Mace has selected distributed power developer Clarke Energy to supply natural gas-fueled engines to provide power and heat for the first phase of London’s £380m Nova, Victoria, redevelopment project, an area previously known as Victoria Circle.

Land Securities are transforming the area by providing new high-quality apartments, restaurants and modern offices. The first phase of the project, overseen by Mace, will include three new buildings and landscaped public space, and in keeping with the project’s environmental sustainability goals, two GE Jenbacher J420 units will run a combined heat and power (CHP) configuration to generate 2.96MW for the area—enough electricity to power more than 5,700 homes. Excess heat from the engines will be used to help heat the Nova buildings.

Once operational in 2016, the CHP configuration will power the on-site Energy Centre, export electricity to the grid and provide heat to Nova residents and businesses as well as reduce carbon emissions. Based on 8,000 operating hours per year, the ecomagination qualified Jenbacher gas engines are expected to offset more than 6,500 tons of carbon dioxide.

“We are delighted that Mace has chosen Clarke Energy as a collaborator once again to work on a redevelopment project in London. Improving the energy efficiency of Nova, Victoria, will prove to be a great step forward for the capital city’s energy consumption,” Clarke Energy CEO Jamie Clarke said.

The Nova CHP project reunites Mace with Clarke Energy and GE. Clark Energy is an authorized distributor of GE’s Jenbacher gas engines in many regions throughout the world, including the U.K. The companies previously collaborated on The Shard tower CHP project in London, where similar Jenbacher technology provides on-site power and heat for the tallest building in the European Union and second tallest, free-standing structure in the U.K.

Commissioning of the plant is not expected before the end of 2016, in line with completion of the first phase of the Nova redevelopment project.