Peak Shaving Plant

A large manufacturing company located in Illinois had a need for a source of back-up power.

During project development, it was determined that significant savings could be realized by utilizing the generators to peak shave during the weekday peak hours from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. This resulted in elimination of the “peak” demand charge assessed by the local utility. During off-peak hours, the system shut itself down automatically to take advantage of lower off-peak utility rates.

The IEA team worked closely with the company to evaluate its needs, and the result of this effort was the installation of a 4.6 megawatt natural gas fired, standby power generating system that was able to handle the entire electrical load for the company. The system utilized fully paralleling switchgear to provide a seamless transition to and from the utility source.

The generator system not only saved money during peak hours, but also provided back-up power in the event of a utility outage. This secondary benefit is important to companies that rely on just-in-time manufacturing to build and sell their products. A power outage could shut down operations, and down-time loss of product and/or profit.

“IEA really made this project come together in a way that worked for our benefit. It was a team effort that was very successful for all involved”. – Plant Maintenance Superintendent.