|
WINDSOR, Colo., June 18, 2003 -- Encorp has signed an agreement with an influential group of Mexico City businessmen to provide power technology software and equipment for an $80 million entertainment complex in the capital city.
When completed in early 2005, the complex will be among the largest in Latin America supported by a combined-heat-and-power plant.
The agreement signals Encorp's foray into Latin America, a market ripe for the services, software and hardware Encorp provides that allow customers to reap financial savings and ensure clean, reliable energy from distributed generation.
With distributed-generation technologies, companies install small- to medium-scale power generators on-site close to where electricity is used, providing an alternative to -- or enhancement of -- traditional utility power.
Encorp will provide its Energy Management Center, switchgear and controls, valued at $870,000, to the massive 1.7-million-square-foot Foro del Azteca complex, which will operate its own 9.2-megawatt on-site combined-heat-and-power plant completely independent from the local utility.
A 9.2-megawatt combined-heat-and-power system can produce enough power to meet the electricity needs of more than 9,000 homes in the United States a year.
The combined-heat-and-power system will be more efficient than conventional on-site power units. In addition to generating electricity when needed, the system will use waste heat - often considered an unusable byproduct of an on-site power system - to make hot water. Foro del Azteca operators, in turn, will use the hot water to run the facility's absorption chillers that will provide air conditioning to the facility year-round.
Foro del Azteca's mini power plant will be among the cleanest in Mexico, featuring eight 1,167-kilowatt Waukesha natural-gas-powered generators. The triple-pass emissions control technology used in the engine stacks would meet California's stringent emissions requirements - one of the toughest emission standards in the world.
With a vast local industry, unique geographic location and 24 million residents, Mexico City is one of the most polluted cities in the world. Ensuring limited generator emissions is a priority for project developers.
"This is a pioneering project for Encorp, and a pioneering project for Mexico," said Dennis Orwig, Encorp CEO. "The massive Foro del Azteca complex will rely continuously on our services and equipment for its clean power."
At a signing ceremony in Denver today, Manuel Borja Garcia, director of finance for the Foro del Azteca project, said, "Foro del Azteca is one of the five largest projects of its kind in Latin America using private investment dollars. The complex is unique because it combines retail with a wide range of family entertainment."
A group of business leaders from 13 Mexican companies joined together to make Foro del Azteca a reality. The entertainment-filled complex will be constructed next to the world's third largest soccer stadium - the 114,000-seat Stadium Azteca.
Daily power needs of Foro del Azteca will be substantial. The sprawling complex will feature 18 movie theaters, two IMAX screens, a 3-D movie screen, planetarium with observatory, bowling, go carts, eight restaurants, an ice-skating rink, sports clubs for children and adults, a golf practice area, two discotheques, a "small town" with hundreds of booths and vendors and parking for 4,000 cars.
Colorado Trade Missions Today's agreement between Encorp and the Foro del Azteca business team came about, in part, from Colorado trade missions to Mexico and Washington, D.C. in which Encorp officials participated last year. The first trip, co-organized by the Colorado Environmental Business Alliance and the Governor's Office of Economic Development & International Trade Office, introduced Encorp officials to representatives of IECOSA, the Mexico City company that originally contacted Foro del Azteca principals.
A subsequent trip to Washington, D.C., organized by the Governor's Office of Economic Development & International Trade, allowed Encorp to learn about international financing options. "Trade missions like these offer a very efficient way to understand the business environment and opportunities in various countries," Encorp's Orwig noted. "The trade missions were well organized and offered us direct contact with the right people in a timely way. We will definitely continue to participate in these missions."
Encorp's services and products planned for Foro del Azteca's co-generation system include the Energy Management Center, a monitoring, alarming and reporting service that will ensure the complex's eight generators run at peak efficiency.
Foro del Azteca owners, impressed by Energy Management Center abilities and wanting to showcase the environmentally friendly co-generation system, plan to feature a large-screen "real-time" view of the operating generators and Energy Management Center data in the complex's central gathering area. In addition, Encorp will provide eight Generator Power Controls*, also called the "Gold Box," which is the world's first truly integrated generator controller. Each Encorp GPC will control and synchronize a select number of Waukesha generators as they operate simultaneously. Encorp switchgear safely will transfer electricity from the generators throughout the 1.7-million-square-foot complex.
The company's Communication Processor Module will allow Foro del Azteca operators to access information about the power each generator produces.
Stewart & Stevenson's Distributed Energy Solutions Division, which engineers and produces power-related equipment, will supply the project's eight Waukesha engine generators and heat-recovery units.
IECOSA, which represents Encorp in Mexico, initially brought the Foro del Azteca project to Windsor, Colo.-based Encorp. Founded in 1995, IECOSA is a manufacturer of waste-management products and automotive bodies. The company also is involved in the environmental industry and in energy generation. IECOSA is a Latin America sales and manufacturing representative for 12 companies in the United States, Europe and Japan.
For more information on Encorp, call 888-362-6771 or visit www.encorp.com.
| 
Articles 
| View all PennWell sites | View all PennWell events
Add RSS Feed
