Prior to the refit, the building, at 200 Victoria Street in Carlton, was Carlton United Breweries laboratory site. Since being refurbished, the building now houses premium office space and a selection of boutique retail shops.

This is the first trigeneration plant in a Victorian Government building. The gas-fired trigeneration plant provides power to the building and uses waste heat from the generation of power for heating and cooling. This onsite process avoids generation of high greenhouse gas emissions that usually result from centralised coal-fired power generation and transmission inefficiencies.

The trigeneration plant comprises a 386 kilowatt (kW) MTU Series 400 natural gas-fired engine that is connected to the grid. The engine is coupled to a 290 kW Thermax exhaust absorption chiller and a 230 kW heating water heat exchanger. Exhaust gases from the engine power the absorption chiller, generating chilled water which is reticulated throughout the building thermal distribution systems. Meanwhile, heat rejected from the engine jacket water cooling circuit is transferred to heating hot water (via a skid-mounted heat exchanger) which is reticulated throughout the building’s thermal distribution systems. The facility is fully integrated into the building’s chilled heating and condenser water systems.

The plant is set up to operate either in grid parallel import or island mode and operates automatically during the peak demand periods, or during grid outages as emergency backup. It is estimated that the plant will produce 1.5gigawatt hours of electricity annually, and save up to 950 tonnes* of CO2 per annum.

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Sustainability permeates every aspect of the building – aside from the trigeneration plant, the building also features a light-filled atrium, under-floor air distribution and rainwater harvesting facilities.

In 2009 the building was awarded a coveted 6-Star Green Star Rating – one of a handful of properties in Victoria to achieve the 6-Star status. The next goal is to achieve a 6-Star Green Star As Built Rating for the project. The trigeneration facility has been critical in achieving these goals.

The result is a vibrant and healthy workspace that delivers on all aspects of environmental, social and economic sustainability.

The first tenant, EPA Victoria, moved into the building in November 2009.

* CO2 savings are calculated based on the information from the Australian Government’s National Greenhouse Accounts Factors (June 2009). Calculation methodology externally reviewed by PAE Holmes.