Renewable Energy Facility, Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center

DLZ provided building design leadership services in the design of a new state-of-the art Renewable Energy Facility introducing an unprecedented grouping of energy conserving and generating processes to the District’s Southerly plant. The complex burns sludge from the Southerly and Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plants, converting the fluidized bed incinerators’ heat to high-pressure steam, powering an electricity-generating turbine, which provides 25 percent of the plant’s electricity.

This $170 million, LEED Silver-certified facility reduces natural gas usage by 98 percent, common air pollutants by 60 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15,000 metric tons per year.

The project redeveloped 48,000 square feet of underutilized land to house over 140,000 square feet in a 65 foot tall structure housing the unique process areas, process control, administrative, training and support spaces.