Case Study: Boeing achieves central plant modernization, improved efficiency and 84% NO2 reduction with Ameresco

Boeing - Customer Case Study

Boeing’s Huntington Beach, California campus faced an aging, inefficient central plant built in 1963: a wholly gas‑fired system with five R‑11 centrifugal chillers, three steam‑driven chillers, and a high‑pressure steam loop that was unreliable and environmentally problematic. Boeing selected Ameresco to deliver a design‑build modernization of the combined hot water and chilled water plant and to convert the facility to a cleaner, more efficient system while maintaining campus operations.

Ameresco purchased and temporarily operated the plant during a four‑month interim period, then completed a full modernization that replaced the chillers with three premium‑efficiency R‑123 centrifugal chillers (≈1,833 tons each, 5,500 tons total) and removed the steam system in favor of two high‑temperature hot water generators (56 million BTU/hr). The Ameresco solution eliminated CFC refrigerant, cut nitrogen dioxide emissions from 166,000 to 26,800 pounds per year, and delivered significantly improved efficiency, reliability and operational flexibility for Boeing.

Boeing