Wiley|Wilson is pleased to announce that the Combined Heat and Power Plant at the US Naval Support Facility Indian Head, MD, was named an Engineering Excellence Grand Award winner; and the Richmond City Justice Center in Richmond, VA, was named an Engineering Excellence Honor Award winner by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)/Virginia. The firm provided engineering design and support services for both facilities.

“Earning this distinction for two of our projects is a tremendous honor and we are very proud that our peers and colleagues at ACEC/VA recognized the innovation and hard work that both facilities demonstrate,” said Fred Armstrong, PE, Wiley|Wilson Chairman and CEO.

“This project truly represents a new phase in the power generation arena,” said Chris Garner, PE, Wiley|Wilson Project Manager. Chris served as Project Manager for the Combined Heat and Power Plant at the US Naval Support Facility Indian Head. “Every employee-owner who worked on this project in any capacity can be proud that it not only has earned such a prestigious honor, but that it can be viewed as an example for other facilities to follow who want to achieve similar efficiency and reliability goals.”

“We are very pleased to have earned the Honor Award from ACEC/VA,” said Norman B. Downey, PE, Wiley|Wilson Vice President, Project Manager. Norman was the firm’s Project Manager for the Richmond City Justice Center. “Design work for this facility presented a unique set of challenges, in large part due to its high security requirements. We are excited to have earned this respected award and even more excited that our designs have helped create a facility that the entire community can be proud of.”

The annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) recognizes the state’s most notable engineering accomplishments during the past year. Award winners are named based on how well projects demonstrated innovation, complexity, achievement, and value to the industry.

Since its first competition entry in 2012, Wiley|Wilson has been recognized with Engineering Excellence Awards by ACEC/VA numerous times. In 2014, it was named the Pinnacle Award winner for the design of the Naval Research Laboratory, Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (NRL-LASR). That same year the firm was named an Honor Award recipient for improvements made to the Wintergreen Water System. In 2013, the company earned an Engineering Excellence Honor Award for its design of the Virginia Tech Materials Management Facility and in 2012 received an Honor Award for the Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) facility in Bedford, VA.

About the Combined Heat and Power Plant at the Naval Support Facility Indian Head
Wiley|Wilson and general contractor Clark Construction, along with mechanical and electrical contractors The Bell Company and Watson Electric, replaced an aging coal-fired Goddard Power Plant and reconfigured the steam distribution system into a nodal/decentralized system. Additionally, the facility’s aging equipment was modernized to reduce operational and maintenance costs and seven small, nodal boiler plants were installed to replace those portions of the failing infrastructure. Two 5MW steam turbine generators were removed from the Goddard plant and replaced with a single 4.6MW natural gas–fired combustion turbine generator and two 2.5MW diesel-fired standby generators.

The US Naval Support Facility Indian Head was the US Navy’s final remaining facility that still used coal-fired power generation. By replacing the Goddard Power Plant, the US Navy has now completely removed coal-fired power from its facilities, marking a pivotal moment in naval power accomplishment for the organization.

The firm also designed a new protection and control scheme for the entire 13.2kV system that is capable of operating as a microdgrid to allow transition between grid-connected mode and islanded mode without interrupting critical base operations. The resulting automation scheme constantly monitors system loading and events to respond and act quickly in the event of loss of utility power. Additionally, the firm designed a new, 10,000 SF one-story Utilities and Energy Management (UEM) building intended to achieve LEED Silver certification. A control room and control station housed in the UEM building allows interfacing between other plant equipment. The UEM control room also controls the ancillary equipment in the steam plant and the interface with the boiler.

About the Richmond City Justice Center
The City of Richmond contracted with the Tompkins/Ballard Joint Venture to design and construct a new facility on the site of the existing Richmond City Jail. Wiley|Wilson provided mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design and construction phase services as part of the design-build team. The $116.5 million Richmond Justice Center is a six-story, 1,280-bed, 392,000 square foot structure. The Center contains a central utility plant, full-service kitchen, commercial grade laundry, and a security processing center. Each inmate housing unit also features a 100 SF medical triage room where medications are dispensed and sick call is held. Today, the Richmond Justice Center is an award-winning, LEED-certified facility that Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. described as being “one of the most innovative jail facilities in the country.”

Because a wide range of stakeholders utilize the facility, safety and security were the primary concerns during design and construction. Strict attention was paid to ensure access for visitors and personnel was efficient and well-organized. At the same time, the facility’s design and layout also ensures inmates are housed securely and humanely. Notably, the Center achieved LEED Gold certification when it was originally scheduled for Silver certification. The additional savings in maintenance and operation costs will enable the city to reallocate those funds to other programs, like addiction counseling and educational programs, which have the potential to reduce recidivism benefiting the entire community.

About ACEC/VA
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) represents more than 5,000 independent professional engineering companies throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, environmental, industrial, and community infrastructure. Founded in 1909 and headquartered in Washington, DC, ACEC is a national federation of 51 state and regional organizations, including Virginia’s chapter, ACEC/VA.