Development Projects

Co-Gen Plant at One Penn Plaza, New York, NY

One Penn Plaza Co-Gen Project

Photo credit: iStockphoto.com/Jeremy Edwards

With more than 2.5 million square feet of rentable space, One Penn Plaza is not only one of the largest commercial office buildings in New York City, but also a defining element of the Manhattan skyline. Located immediately adjacent to Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden, One Penn Plaza is one of the most recognizable office buildings in New York City. Annually, more than 10 million vehicles pass by the intersection of 34th Street and 7th Avenue, where One Penn Plaza is located. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey estimates that 600,000 commuters pass through Pennsylvania Station on a typical weekday. Approximately 5,000 to 7,000 people walk through the Penn Plaza area each hour.

Endurant is in the process of developing a 6.2 MW Co-Generation project at One Penn Plaza, seen at right in the skyline with its big red one (to the right of the Empire State Building). With a total of $2.82 million in capital incentives from NYSERDA and support from owner Vornado Realty Trust - one of the largest developers in New York City - the success of the system is likely to spur the development of similar projects in other prominent buildings.


Co-Gen Plant at 717 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY

717 Fifth Avenue Co-Gen Project

Photo credit: EOP

717 Fifth Avenue is a 450,000-square foot, Class-A office building owned and leased by Equity Office Properties (now under The Blackstone Group). The team now at Endurant Energy led the development of this on-site Co-Gen project, which supplies a majority of the building's on-peak electric usage and cooling & heating needs. The system includes the installation of advanced electricity, hot water and chilled water distribution systems.

This state-of-the-art clean energy system consists of two 820 kW lean burn natural gas engine generator sets, heat exchangers, a 289-ton hot water absorption chiller, controls, electrical switchgear and energy distribution all housed in a modular sound-attenuated enclosure. The entire power plant was prefabricated, pre-assembled and pre-tested at an off-site assembly plant, then disassembled and shipped to the site in self-supporting modules. The clean Co-Gen system supplies energy at an overall efficiency of greater than 70%, creating a significant reduction in 717's carbon footprint.

At left: The 1.6 MW Co-Gen plant at 717 Fifth Avenue in NYC serves as a model of Endurant's development vision. Surrounded by the Trump Tower, the Sony Building, the 5-star St. Regis Hotel and Fifth Avenue, the project demonstrates that Co-Gen done right can meld seamlessly into the energy infrastructure of the most discerning urban districts while providing building owners rewarding financial, environmental and energy security benefits.


Winnebago Energy Center (Landfill Gas-to-Electricity), Rockford, IL

Winnebago Energy Center

Photo credit: William Charles

Located on the campus of the Winnebago County Landfill in Rockford, IL, the Winnebago Energy Center is an innovative 6.4 MW green power generation project, harnessing the potent greenhouse gases (methane and carbon dioxide) that are the natural by-product of the decomposition of municipal solid waste. The project reroutes the methane in the landfill gas to four specially modified Caterpillar reciprocating engine generator sets, capturing and making productive use of emissions that otherwise would have been flared into the atmosphere. The results are equivalent to taking 55,855 cars off the road annually, planting 75,636 acres of trees, or powering 5,000 Rockford homes each year.

Endurant successfully collaborated with a diversified team of development partners including procurement and construction principal Ragnar Benson, owner/operator Integrys, engineers Cummins & Barnard and regional utility Commonwealth Edison for the interconnect, metering and relay protection. The project commenced commercial operations in January 2008.

New York Clean DG Working Group

Under a grant from the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, Endurant Energy is partnering with the New York Energy Consumers Council and leading commercial real estate developers in New York City to evaluate and develop clean energy generation facilities for commercial and multi-family housing developments.

Partners / Supporters