Howard University in the USA has signed a long-term agreement with ENGIE North America for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a new central utility plant on Howard’s campus located in Washington, D.C.

The new central utility plant will provide both electric and steam services for buildings on campus.  Under this agreement, ENGIE will design and construct the new plant and once complete, provide operations and maintenance services over the next 20 years. This long-term partnership will result in safe, reliable operation and resilient service for Howard’s students, faculty, and other stakeholders, while at the same time reducing the campus’ carbon footprint and furthering Howard’s energy efficiency goals. ENGIE plans to begin construction in late-February with expected completion in late 2022. 

The new, modern steam plant will be a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, which will generate 35-40 percent of the University’s electric consumption on site. This technology produces a single source of energy that generates electricity or power at the point of use and utilizes exhaust heat that would normally be lost in the generation process to be recovered and recycled to produce steam.