(Holland, Mich.) – Holland Energy Park recently received the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s (ISI) Envision Platinum award recognizing the sustainability of public infrastructure. Holland Energy Park is the first-in-the-country base load power generating plant to receive an Envision rating.  The Holland Board of Public Works created the Holland Energy Park to be a reliable power resource for the Holland community that is socially, economically and environmentally responsible.

“Our community set out to make the Holland Energy Park a benchmark for sustainable infrastructure development,” said Dave Koster, general manager of the Holland Board of Public Works. “We’re deeply gratified to have earned the Envision Platinum recognition from ISI, because it validates the sustainable, reliable and affordable power generation we’ve built to serve our community for decades to come.”

Envision is a verification process specifically designed to rate the sustainability of infrastructure. The process measures five categories: Quality of Life, Leadership, Natural World, Resource Allocation, and Climate and Risk. The categories measure the positive social, economic and environmental impacts in a community throughout the planning, design and construction of infrastructure projects.

Holland Energy Park was designed in coordination with Envision requirements and the City of Holland’s long-range Community Energy Plan, a 40-year plan to become a world-class leader in energy security, affordability, sustainability and efficiency.

HOLLAND ENERGY PARK RATED ENVISION PLATINUM

The HEP fulfills three core functions:  to be a world-class resource that provides a sustainable and long-term energy source and an educational hub; to be a destination that provides activities for the public to connect the community; and also to be a gateway-enhancing eastern access into the City of Holland.

“Holland Energy Park is the product of over a decade of thoughtful planning and community engagement to provide responsible, sustainable energy for Holland,” said Koster, “We are proud that through strenuous efforts Holland Energy Park earned ISI’s highest recognition level.”

When fully operational, the $240-million Holland Energy Park will feature:

• a modern building design that creates an eastern gateway to the City of Holland.
• a 50% reduction in carbon emissions and the virtual elimination of solid particle pollutants.
• double the fuel efficiency of Holland’s present power generation.
• open, public space connecting Windmill Island Gardens to the Macatawa Greenway trail system.
• an expansion of Holland’s innovative snowmelt system.
• the latest combined-cycle natural gas generating technology, producing up to 145 megawatts of power to meet the needs of a growing community.

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The Holland Board of Public Works is auctioning off the last remaining buildings at the Holland Energy Park. This 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home, built in 1939, has served as the administrative office and conference space for the BPW the past year. New kitchen cabinets and counter tops were installed in the home in 2014. A detached garage is also available.

Two pole buildings are also up for auction. An open house will be held on June 10 from 3 – 5 p.m. and the auction will take place on June 18 at 10 a.m. This home and any additional buildings will need to be moved to your property. For more photos and information, visit http://jpauctionservice.com/main/?page_id=715.

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Senator Gary Peters visited the Holland Energy Park yesterday to learn the story behind it’s development and the environmental improvements to the area. Accompanying him on the tour were Mayor Robert Vande Vusse, HBPW board president Tim Hemingway, general manager Dave Koster, project director Dan Nally and operations director Ted Silers. The group toured construction progress and looked at the core technology already in place on site. They also talked about efforts to restore the adjacent wetland, expand community access to the natural area and combat invasive species.

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Read the report here. Or find the original download and more at Environmental Leader’s website.

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Midwest Energy News covered the Holland Energy Park this week with a nice write-up on our snowmelt system and the backstory behind developing the plant. Find the full story at Midwest Energy News.

*Photo property of Midwest Energy News.

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During four days in August the Holland Board of Public Works will be transporting major components for the new Holland Energy Park from Verplank Dock. The equipment on the move from August 9 – 12 will be the heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) for Holland’s new power generating facility.

The HRSGs capture waste heat from the power generation process and use it to create the steam that drives Holland’s steam turbine generator and ultimately the downtown snowmelt system. The new HRSGs at the Holland Energy Park will eventually allow HBPW to expand Holland’s existing snowmelt system and offer additional services.

The HRSGs are big, really big. They will be transported from the waterfront via 13th Street on special crawler equipment that moves at just over two miles per hour. At 70 feet long, nearly 20 feet tall and 17 feet wide, they will require the full width of the streets along the route they will travel.

For that reason, the Holland Police Department will be closing the streets along the transit route on a rolling basis to make sure the HRSGs can move through safely. That means that for some periods during August 9 – 12 residents along the transit route will need to plan for street traffic and parking closures in front of their homes in advance of and during the HRSG’s transit.

“The HRSGs are a critical part of the benefits and value the Holland Energy Park is going to deliver to our community,” said Dave Koster, HBPW general manager. “We apologize for any inconvenience the transit may cause, and we are committed to being as efficient as possible with the time needed to get the HRSGs safely to their new home.”

The schedule* for the transit is:

• Sunday, August 9 – 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
• Monday, August 10 – 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 11 – 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, August 12 -10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

*Subject to change.

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Track the Candace Elise here.

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You can track the ocean voyage of Holland’s new natural gas turbines and watch Holland Energy Park construction progress via webcam. You can view the project’s timeline and keep up-to-date via P21’s Facebook page.

And now you can watch the construction progress in person from the newly installed observation deck at the Holland Energy Park construction site at East 7^th Street, west of Fairbanks.

The Holland Board of Public Works (BPW) installed and opened the observation deck to the public this week. Visitors of nearly every physical ability can access this ADA compliant deck to enjoy a panoramic view of construction progress on what will be the Holland Energy Park.

“Now is the time to get your ‘before’ pictures from the observation deck,” said Dan Nally, business services director at the Holland BPW. “And what fun for little kids who enjoy watching large construction equipment in motion. This is a legacy project, improving our community, and those same kids years later will say, ‘I remember watching this being built as a child.’”

Once major construction on the project is complete, the observation deck will get a second life when it is picked up and moved to the trails that overlook the wetlands on the north side of the Holland Energy Park.

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“These teens are working on the grounds of a legacy project, making the area look great and creating wildlife habitats,” said Dan Nally, business services director at the Holland BPW. “That’s something they can be proud of this summer, and every time they pass the Holland Energy Park thereafter.”

Projects include assembling a hoop house that will be used for winter plant storage, assembling bat, bird and duck houses, and making other habitat structures out of brush piles, all near the wetlands and nature trails. Youth will also be planting native plants in the transition zone on the edge of the wetlands area to restore the “ecotone.”  The Holland Youth Connections teens are working on projects outside the construction area due to MiOSHA and youth labor law restrictions about youth working near construction areas.

“It is no coincidence that juvenile crime rates in the area continue to drop,” says Ryan Cotton, Holland City Manager. “Participating employers get a great new resource for more productivity, the at-risk youth develop new mentor relationships, and Holland’s families are strengthened from employer access to this program.”

The City of Holland, along with Escape Ministries, Good Temps, Ottawa County Michigan Works!, West Coast Chamber of Commerce and Lakeshore Advantage, are among the Holland Youth Connections’ community partners.

About Holland Youth Connections

Holland Youth Connections began in 2013 with 12 kids working through the summer at parks to improve the city of Holland and jump start their futures in the job market. The following year, over 100 youth age 14-17 held summer jobs at 20 work sites in the Holland area. The program gives young people the opportunity to gain work experience, develop solid work behaviors, provide helpful services for the Holland community, and form positive relationships with peers and supervisors. Anyone ages 14-17 who is willing to commit to working hard for 10 weeks, this year from June 16-August 20, is considered for youth positions. Supporters can donate to Holland Youth Connections c/o Finance Department, 270 S. River Street, 49423.

About Holland Board of Public Works

The Holland Board of Public Works (HBPW) is a community-owned enterprise providing electric generation and distribution, water, wastewater treatment and broadband utility services to nearly 28,000 business and residential customers in the Holland area. HBPW is committed to enhancing the economic and environmental vitality of the community, providing reliable services at the lowest rates achievable through innovation, efficiency and professional operations.

About Partners Involved in Holland Youth Connections BPW Project Site

• Barton Malow is the Engineer/Procure/Construct (EPC) contractor of the Holland Energy Park and will be volunteering time to oversee youth workers.
• Progressive AE is the project’s architect and landscape designer of record and will be volunteering time to oversee youth workers.
• Landscape Design Services will donate their time and supervision as well as use of their facility, containers and other planting materials for the projects.
• Walters Gardens is donating plants for the teens put into containers at Landscape Design Services.

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The SGT-800 combustion gas turbines that will power our new power plant have begun the long journey from their manufacturing facility in Finspång, Sweden according to Norrköpings Tidningar, a local paper of the port city. The paper does not have an English translation, but if you’re able to read Swedish, you can find the story here.

Photos property of Norrköpings Tidningar, a local paper.

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