Clark Completes New Energy Efficient Plant at LAX

May 18, 2015

Clark Completes New Energy Efficient Plant at LAX

LOS ANGELES – Clark, along with joint venture partner McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., recently completed construction of a new Central Utility Plant (CUP) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The 75,000 square-foot facility replaces the 50-year-old existing CUP with a more modern and efficient plant.

The CUP consists of three main elements: a four-story building that contains the plant and staff offices, an above-ground cylindrical 1.6 million-gallon thermal energy storage tank that rises nearly four stories, and a maintenance facility with workshops on the ground floor and cooling towers above.

The new facility will provide additional capacity for the air conditioning, heating, and lighting of the airport terminals and buildings, which will enhance passenger comfort. The new systems also improve utility service reliability and safety.

The new CUP is the first sustainable utility plant in the country. Anticipating LEED Gold certification, the new facility is 25 percent more energy efficient than its predecessor and will save an estimated $7 million annually in electrical and natural-gas use. State-of-the-art, pollution-control equipment also will reduce carbon-dioxide emissions equivalent to removing 1,000 cars from road. The facility generates its own electricity for operations that will result in an estimated $2 million in rebates from the L.A. Department of Water and Power.

The CUP required more than 1.5 million manhours to build and Clark's joint venture team employed more than 300 construction workers daily during the phased four-year project. The utility plant was completed under budget.

Executive Director of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), Gina Marie Lindsey, stated the new CUP will allow LAWA to meet the added demands for air conditioning and heating and to meet passengers’ expectations of a comfortable, temperature-controlled environment.