A combined heat and power system at the Toledo Museum of Art has surpassed 400,000 hours of operation – contributing to the Museum’s overall savings of 80 per cent of electricity use per year. Representatives from Capstone Turbine and GEM Energy presented an award to the Toledo Museum of Art in recognition of the combined heat and power system operations milestone at a Green Energy Ohio workshop at the Museum.
The four C65 Capstone microturbines on-site supply heating and electricity through cogeneration. The microturbine system supplies the museum with 260kW of continuous electricity and 1.6 million btu of heat, equal to the amount of electricity consumed by 250 homes. The sustainable microturbines allow the museum to conserve energy, while still maintaining the precise temperature and humidity levels required to preserve its art collection and ensure the comfort of visitors.
“Every dollar that the Museum saves on energy is a dollar that can be used for programming to benefit our community and advance our purpose of art education,” said Carol Bintz, chief operating officer at the Toledo Museum of Art.
GEM Energy, of the Rudolph Libbe Group, installed the microturbines in 2003. Twelve years ago, the Museum’s combined heat and power system was a landmark energy project, marking Ohio’s first microturbine installation and the first in Ohio to include a net metering agreement with
First Energy. “Capstone is proud to recognize another long-running and reliable site that has been providing both environmental benefits and cost savings to the museum for over a decade,” said Marc Rouse, director of sales in America at
Capstone Turbine.-
Hussien Shousher, president of GEM Energy, referred to the Toledo Museum of Art as a "national leader in sustainability, as well as a world-renowned art museum and educator. The Museum committed to an investment in its future with this energy project, and it’s been exciting to watch that investment increase in value for our customer over the years. Our customer has impacted how others have invested in energy efficiency locally.”
As one of the few museums nationwide to implement comprehensive sustainable practices, the
Toledo Museum of Art is a model for other museums, arenas and large facilities that require significant amounts of energy. The Museum’s 250,000-square-foot, two-story main building holds 30,000 works of art. The 4.5 acres of floor space include 45 galleries, 15 classroom studios, the 1,750-seat Peristyle concert hall, a 176-seat lecture hall, a café and boutique.