Maintaining a reliable utility infrastructure network that provides power, water, heating and cooling, and services to all of the buildings at KSC is essential to ensuring mission success for all users.  Planning actions need to be implemented as KSC prepares for utility improvements.

Planning Initiatives and Actions

Efficiency of Existing Central Utility Plants

• Mothball, abandon, or demolish facilities not needed by either NASA programs or non-NASA entities.
• Currently there a number of central utility plants throughout the center that provide chilled and high temperature hot water to various buildings, and that have equipment that is more than 20 years old and sized to serve much higher demands required during the shuttle era. Central plants should be reviewed to determine the payback of replacing equipment with smaller, higher efficiency systems.
• When upgrading the central utility plants, consideration should be given to including the installation of combined heat and power plants, thermal storage, absorption or turbine driven chillers, and solar hot water.
• Large central utility plants offer increased efficiency, operational flexibility and reliability.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

• KSC is considering further analysis of cogeneration options, including different scenarios with different combinations of facilities served.

Thermal Storage

• KSC has recently transitioned to Thermal Energy Storage (TES) as it is an attractive strategy for efficient chilled water production when the difference between on-peak and off-peak power pricing is great, yielding substantial operational savings on energy consumption.

Distributed Generation Combined Heat and Power

• In recent years, KSC has moved toward decentralizing its heating plants.  KSC should continue to transition to new, more efficient technologies that allow interconnection with the utility grid.  Existing building boilers may be used as backup or to provide additional capacity.

Micro turbines and Fuel Cells

• KSC is working to identify buildings that may be excellent candidates for fuel cell and gas microturbine applications, such as buildings with high coincident electrical and hot water load factors.

Geothermal Heat Pumps

• KSC should look for opportunities to incorporate closed loop geothermal heat pumps.  The technology is not new or complex and maintenance costs are very low.  Although installation costs are typically steep, a correctly sized, properly installed and maintained system will have a nominal life expectancy of 50-100 years.

 

Advanced Metering and Smart Grid

• As more non-NASA entities begin to utilize KSC facilities, this capability will more effectively monitor and gauge energy usage by specific operations
• By monitoring both energy production and demand, it’s possible to shape the demand energy curve to more closely match production capabilities with the building demands, which will increase overall efficiency.  KSC has started implementing an advanced metering system. A smart grid system that could be integrated with the advanced metering system should be considered as new energy production systems are implemented in the future.

Renewable Energy

• Expand PV capabilities by targeting underutilized surface parking lots and previously developed sites that will meet facility sustainability requirements while minimizing impacts on valued wildlife. 
• Continue to strengthen its partnership with Florida Power and Light (FPL) by considering further expansion of their solar energy production portfolio by using previously disturbed land outside of the NASA secured perimeter as identified in the future land use plan.