When the neighboring Xcel Energy power plant notified Andersen Corporation in 2005 that the company needed to find a new source of steam energy for its Bayport facility, Andersen met the challenge while adhering to their principals of environmental stewardship. Today, Andersen’s unique new steam plant allows the use of virtually all renewable energy with its wood-fired boilers and a Warm Water Recovery System.
The new steam plant has been fully operational since 2007. It supplies the entire heating and cooling demand for the 2.5-million-square-foot Bayport facility, and some of its manufacturing power. The primary boiler is fueled by sawdust collected from Andersen’s on-site milling operations. In addition, the plant captures thermal energy contained in warm water discharge from the Xcel Energy power plant located just upstream on the St. Croix River. The benefits are two-fold; Andersen extracts existing heat thereby lowering the water temperature for re-entry into the river, and the result is good for the river’s ecological balance.
In addition to its functional benefits, the structure itself was built with minimal environmental impact. The steam plant utilizes both the footprint and steel of an existing, unused storage building on the Andersen property.
Andersen Corporation received numerous accommodations for the innovative steam plant: the American Council of Engineering Companies’ Grand Award in the energy category at the Engineering Excellence Awards in spring 2009, a Seven Wonders Award in 2009 from the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers and a Green Business and Environmental Management Award in 2007 from the Minnesota Environmental Initiative. The project was a finalist for the Green Award in 2007 presented by the Minnesota High Tech Association.
