Chicago, IL

The Cyprus Rod Plant in Chicago produces copper rod for industry 24 hours a day. Over the years, they have achieved significant savings on their energy costs with their 2.3 MW cogeneration system. Their system consists of three 775 kW Caterpillar natural gas fired engines with 9,000,000 Btu/hr of heat recovery. Heat is captured off the engine exhaust and jacket water and is used to heat water for space heating an indoor train loading area. This area had previously not been heated, and was very uncomfortable for workers in the winter. Since the plant is located in a residential area where strict sound levels must be adhered to, special sound attenuation measures were taken to keep any noise to acceptable levels.