Hospital cedes 6 years' savings to get cogeneration

A 15-year shared savings contract will allow St. Mary's General Hospital in Lewiston, Maine to replace aging boilers and an emergency generator with $500,000 worth of boiler and cogeneration equipment as insurance against high electric rates. Providing the capital and sharing the savings will be Energy Management Inc. (EMI). The 550kW dual-fuel marine diesel engine cogeneration system is sized to provide 75% of the hospital's electric load, but this exceeds the hospital's thermal load and extends the payback period to six years. The shared-savings plan makes the longer payback possible. The project will commence before the federal investment tax credit expires.