They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that phrase certainly applies to the Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston. TMC bills itself as the world’s largest medical complex, and its campus is home to two universities, more than 20 hospitals, three medical schools, and a large number of additional research facilities and institutions. All of the TMC institutions share a critical need for reliable cooling, and many of them are supported by the Thermal Energy Corp. (TECO), a not-for-profit cooperative that serves many of the buildings on the campus.
According to Steve Swinson, president and CEO, TECO, his company serves 17 customers by providing chilled water and steam for 45 buildings on the TMC campus. Today, TECO provides its services through a highly efficient district energy system paired with combined heat and power (CHP) using approximately 30 percent less fuel than grid-supplied electricity and conventional steam production. CHP also helps TECO reduce emissions by an estimated 32,700 tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to removing more than 6,100 vehicles from the road.