Energy Plant Construction to Begin

Construction will begin in March on a central energy plant at The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital.

This will become the new home for utilities that serve the existing building as well as those that will support the planned North Tower addition. The energy plant will be located between the employee parking deck and the physician parking lot.

As construction begins, the Tankersley Drive entrance to the physician lot will close. Physicians will then enter the lot through the Church Street service drive to access the gates on the southeast side near the loading deck. These southeast gates will remain functional until the Tankersley entrance re-opens near the end of the project.

The Tankersley Drive entrance to the employee parking deck will not be impacted.

Construction of the plant will allow the hospital to replace its aging boilers and generators as well to provide additional boiler, generator and chiller capacity for the North Tower.

"The replacement of this older equipment will allow us to be significantly more energy and fuel efficient," says Tom Gettinger, Executive Vice President, Moses Cone Hospital. "As a commitment to our community, our goal is to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for both the central energy plant and North Tower projects."

The Board of Trustees approved funding for the central energy plant project, which will be built by contractor, Brassfield & Gorie. The construction is expected to be complete by July 2011.