Ready for Gold: How Bernhard Helped Restore Utah Olympic Park to a World-Class Venue

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The Winter Olympics provides thrilling competition on snow and ice, bringing together the best winter-sports athletes from around the globe to compete on the world’s biggest stage every four years. Fans enjoy two weeks of athletics, excitement and nail-biting finishes. For athletes, however, their moment in the Olympic spotlight might be the culmination of a decade or more of dedication, training and hard work.

With America’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes willing to sacrifice so much for a chance at gold, the facilities they use to train and prepare need to be just as dedicated to excellence.

Thanks to a project by Bernhard (formerly ETC Group) to modernize the sliding track at Utah Olympic Park (UOP) in Park City, Utah, American Olympic and Paralympic National Team members and developmental athletes now have a world-class training facility that’s equal to their passion in the sports of luge, skeleton or bobsledding. As a bonus, Bernhard’s work to help modernize and upgrade the track has given Utah a much better shot at hosting a second Winter Olympics in 2030 or 2034.

THE PROJECT: UTAH OLYMPIC PARK SLIDING TRACK

Built for the bobsled, skeleton and luge events when Utah hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 1,570-meter slide track was an engineering and architectural marvel when it opened. Designed to blend into the steep terrain to limit impact on local wildlife and views, the slide follows the contours of the mountain and complements the natural scenery near Park City. For years after its original completion, the track was considered “The World’s Fastest Ice” — a reputation cemented through incredible speed records set there, including American luge athlete Tony Benshoof’s World Record blast of 86.6 miles per hour in Oct. 2001.

After the Olympics in 2002, the slide continued to serve as the primary training center for the Olympic and Paralympic National Teams, as well as hosting numerous local and international competitions in sliding sports. The venue is also crucial to helping Utah win its bid to host the state’s second Winter Olympics in 2030 or 2034.

Almost 20 years after the last Olympic medals were awarded in Park City, the slide’s complicated refrigeration system was beginning to show its age. Built around a series of ammonia pumps custom made in Germany, the system struggled to hold ice on crucial turns in the track on warm winter days. To make valve adjustments, the slide’s maintenance team had to dig down through snow and ice to each of hundreds of valves and make changes by hand.

The compounding problems came to a head in early 2019, when the World Cup bobsled and skeleton event scheduled to be held at UOP had to be canceled due to mechanical issues. Over the next few months, the operations team tried to remedy the problem by replacing all the valves that control the flow of heat-extracting ammonia throughout the slide. When that solution failed to fix the problem, attention turned to the custom ammonia pumps, only to find that replacements would take months to arrive from Europe.

With so much on the line for both athletes’ Olympic dreams and Utah’s bid for a second Winter Olympics, the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, which manages the slide, turned to the experts at Bernhard. Over the next two years, Bernhard used our deep knowledge of refrigeration and advanced data analytics to turn the two-decade-old Olympic venue back into what’s arguably the most sophisticated sliding track in the world.

THE BERNHARD SOLUTION

Bernhard engineers and designers assessed the refrigerant system of the track and developed a custom, two-phase plan to modernize and replace its control systems. To make the refrigeration system more consistent, Bernhard replaced controls in the slide’s central plant, making them more reliable along with more data-capable, delivering real-time information that’s crucial to monitoring for and anticipating problems.

Along the 1.25-mile track, Bernhard ran extensive fiber-optic cabling for fast data communications, and replaced every temperature sensor with a modern unit that can be monitored remotely. At each evaporator along the course, Bernhard installed temperature and flow sensors which also feed real-time data to centralized control. Together, these upgrades vastly increased the monitoring and analytic and remote adjustment capabilities of the track, helping maintain uniform “sweet spot” ice even on days when outside air temperatures vary widely. Data visualization and automated analysis help the track’s maintenance team confirm results and optimize mechanical settings based on real-time information, not guesswork and digging for valves. At the same time, rules-detected faults and patterns in the data stream help operators anticipate and correct for problems before they can degrade the competition-perfect condition of the ice.

These upgrades have returned the UOP track to its status as one of the best sliding venues in the world, and are already paying off for athletes. Competitors practicing for the bobsled and luge are already breaking records on the renovated track, promising even more thrilling competition in coming years.

Ready to see how Bernhard’s deep bench of engineers, data analysts and experts can help your facility overcome its most complicated challenges and reach a world-class level?  Visit us online at www.bernhard.com, or call 504-833-8291.

About the Author:

Jim Crockett, PE, has 25 years of experience in the HVAC industry in general and 15 years specializing in energy efficiency. At Bernhard, Jim has been the senior engineer on HVAC Energy Efficiency projects around the world and has provided technical guidance in support of the  engineering staff and Monitoring-Based Commissioning program. Jim holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Brigham Young University and an MBA with Finance Concentration from Southern Methodist University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in AZ, CA, FL, ID, KS, MT, NM, TX, UT, and WA and is the recipient of the 2021 AEE Region V Engineer of the Year Award.  An accomplished speaker, Jim has presented at AEE World, AEE Arizona, APPA, and EMA webinars. His article on Science-Based Target has been published in Utah Construction & Design Magazine’s 2022 March/April issue.

Renewable Energy Certificates: The Missing Piece to Solve the Puzzle of Clean Electricity

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By: Jim Crockett, Bernhard

For businesses and large facilities that don’t have the on-site infrastructure for renewable energy generation, there’s an inherent problem with committing to using more electricity from “clean” sources. How do you prove the energy you’re using is actually “clean”?

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about 20 percent of the electricity used in the U.S. in 2021 was from renewable energy sources like hydroelectric, solar and wind, while around 61 percent was from fossil fuels including coal and natural gas. This issue is after energy is produced, it all gets dropped into the same power grid, regardless of source. Once it’s blended together, there’s no way to sift the “clean” electrons from the “dirty” ones.

Those who don’t work in the energy sector might think an electron is just an electron. But for facility operators hoping to reduce Scope 2 emissions, meet renewable energy targets, reduce their carbon footprint or publicly demonstrate a commitment to using clean energy, the issue is a real conundrum. Short of building on-site solar or encouraging the U.S. to somehow create a “Green Grid” that only accepts and sells renewable energy, how can organizations prove to stakeholders, their community and the public that some (or all) of the energy they use is from renewable sources?

The Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) was created to help solve this exact problem.

What Are Renewable Energy Certificates?

Sometimes called Renewable Energy Credits, a Renewable Energy Certificate is basically a kind of receipt, used to prove the energy your facility uses was indeed purchased from sustainable sources and is the only facility claiming this energy.

Every time the operator of a certified renewable energy source like a solar plant or wind farm produces and delivers one megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity to the power grid, that producer is awarded a REC. RECs differ from carbon offsets, in that an offset represents one metric ton of reduced or avoided greenhouse gas emissions.

Each REC certifies its owner has the legal right to use one MWh produced by a non-polluting source. The REC tracking system ensures each REC is only held by one legal owner, and allows RECs to be bought, sold and traded electronically. Nonprofits, businesses and individuals can then buy and sell those RECs.

Currently, more than 850 utility providers in the U.S. offer Green Tariff or Green Power programs that allow customers in their service area to purchase RECs. Most charge a premium of around 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour — about $15 per MWh — in addition to the cost of the electricity. The non-profit organization Green-e, founded by the Center for Resource Solutions, certifies energy producers as sustainable and REC eligible, and ensures that RECs are not double-counted. It’s recommended that businesses only purchase RECs related to energy produced by suppliers certified by Green-e.

If a business that hopes to demonstrate its commitment to non-polluting energy uses 5 MWh of electricity in a month, they can buy and invalidate (or “retire”) five RECs. Once officially used, retired RECs can’t be bought, sold or traded again. In addition to supporting renewable energy producers, buying RECs provides end users with documented certification that electricity used during a certain period was obtained from non-polluting sources.

How does the REC tracking system work?

In North America, the process of tracking, awarding and administering RECs is overseen by 10 regional authorities, each with its own specific territory. Much of the central U.S., for example, is part of the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS), which stretches from the Louisiana Gulf Coast to the northern border of Canada’s Manitoba Province. Energy users are not required to buy RECs from their home state or regional territory, but they do have to register with their regional authority to participate in REC markets.

One factor to keep in mind when considering RECs is that in many U.S. states are sorted into either “compliance” or “voluntary” markets, which can have an impact on the price of RECs produced there.

Currently, laws in more than 29 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. require electric utilities to generate a certain percentage of the electricity they produce through renewable sources. These are the “compliance” state markets. If energy producers in those states don’t meet renewable energy targets, they can be required to purchase RECs to offset the difference.There are “voluntary” market states, including North and South Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana and Georgia. In those states, the demand for RECs is primarily from companies hoping to meet voluntary sustainability goals, or REC purchases by businesses in compliance markets. Due to lower demand and other factors, RECs created in voluntary market states are usually less expensive.

Because energy users in one regional territory are free to purchase RECs created anywhere in the U.S., users in compliance states often purchase RECs created in voluntary market states, where each REC-certified KWh of electricity is often more affordable. In doing so, the system helps support sustainable producers in voluntary states, where a greater percentage of electricity is produced from fossil fuels. Although people are free to buy RECs from anywhere, specific types of RECs may be required to meet regulatory requirements. For example, they may require wind RECs or solar RECs, or require them to be locally sourced.

Like any traded commodity or financial instrument, RECs and the system that allows them to be bought, traded and sold can be complicated. Still wondering whether your business should use RECs to reach its sustainability targets? Nobody knows energy better than Bernhard, and we can help RECs make sense for your large facility’s electrical needs. In doing so, we’ll support renewable energy generation and help more businesses meet their clean electricity goals, creating a brighter future for us all.

About the Author:

Jim Crockett, PE, has 25 years of experience in the HVAC industry in general and 15 years specializing in energy efficiency. At Bernhard, Jim has been the senior engineer on HVAC Energy Efficiency projects around the world and has provided technical guidance in support of the  engineering staff and Monitoring-Based Commissioning program. Jim holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Brigham Young University and an MBA with Finance Concentration from Southern Methodist University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in AZ, CA, FL, ID, KS, MT, NM, TX, UT, and WA and is the recipient of the 2021 AEE Region V Engineer of the Year Award.  An accomplished speaker, Jim has presented at AEE World, AEE Arizona, APPA, and EMA webinars. His article on Science-Based Target has been published in Utah Construction & Design Magazine’s 2022 March/April issue.

Bernhard Announces “360 Promise” with Tulane to Encourage Students to Enter Energy Industry

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Bernhard announced this week a bold commitment to hire 360 Tulane University graduates over the next three decades. Dubbed the “360 Promise,” the program is a partnership between Bernhard and the Tulane Energy Institute (TEI), a world-renowned component of Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business in New Orleans. The commitment, although primarily focused on Tulane Energy Institute students and curriculum, also extends to other relevant departments across the university, including Tulane’s Law School and School of Science and Engineering.

“When we think globally about the opportunity that the Energy Transition presents, it’s clear to us that talent is a critical ingredient to success,” said Rob Guthrie, Bernhard’s Chief Development Officer. “That’s true of the energy industry in general, and it’s certainly true at Bernhard. By making the 360 Promise with Tulane, Bernhard is strengthening its role to shape and develop future industry leaders. It’s a bold and exciting step, made more significant by the strength of our partner—one of the nation’s leading universities.”

As a branch of the Freeman School of Business, the Tulane Energy Institute provides educational opportunities that improve understanding of the integration of energy markets, policies, technology and the environment, and fosters interest and expertise in the energy industry, propelling graduates into top positions in one of the world’s most dynamic fields. As part of the commitment, Bernhard experts will assist Tulane in developing course content and curricula relevant to burgeoning trends in the energy services industry.

“A unique feature of this promise is folding in Bernhard projects into our course content,” said Pierre Conner, Executive Director of Tulane Energy Institute. “Students get a chance to learn from real-time projects alongside experts from one of the most respected energy services companies in the world. That brings our curriculum to life and makes for a more engaging learning experience, which we take great pride in at Tulane.”

360 Promise comes on the heels of Project RISE, a 30-year Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) partnership, designed to help Tulane substantially reduce on-campus greenhouse gas emissions, with a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Bernhard will complete a host of major energy infrastructure improvements at Tulane facilities including the construction of a 1-megawatt solar energy plant that will supply 10 percent of electrical demand at Tulane’s uptown campus.