Apr 24 - The Fresno Bee

Tucked behind a red brick wall near the Fresno County Jail, a natural gas-burning plant cranks out electricity 24 hours a day to some buildings in downtown Fresno.

The 1.2-megawatt plant is expected to save the county about $1.4 million a year in electricity costs and reduce air pollution.

The county also earned a one-time rebate of $1.5 million from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. because the plant saves energy and produces power on site.

"This is a great win," Supervisor Judy Case said after the county received the rebate check last week from PG&E. "We've got energy savings and we've got improved air quality."

The plant, which went online in December, supplies some of the energy to power the jail, courthouse, Hall of Records, county plaza and sheriff's administration building.

"This generator replaces electricity we're buying from PG&E," said Martin Bloom, facility services and purchasing manager for the county's Department of General Services. "This allows us to buy less electricity during the peak hours, especially in the summer when it's the most expensive."

Burns & McDonnell Engineering, a Kansas City-based company that specializes in energy conservation projects, designed and built the plant. It completed the work in November, nearly four months ahead of schedule.

The plant consists of a large diesel engine, an electrical box, underground piping, a heat recovery steam generator and emission control system.

The county financed it by selling $15 million in bonds in 2004.

The annual debt service averages about $1.2 million, said Jeff Heller, administrative analyst with the Department of General Services.

That cost will be recovered through reduced energy bills. The bonds will be paid off in 15 years.

Part of the PG&E rebate, about $300,000, will go toward the first debt service payment due in August. The rest will be put toward the cash-strapped Department of Behavioral Health, which faces cuts in adult mental health services because of a deficit of about $5 million.

County officials said they are pleased the plant is reducing energy consumption and helping to improve air quality.

Said Bloom: "Because of the success of this, we're taking a look to see what other energy-saving projects we can do."

The reporter can be reached at kginis@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6317.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

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