REO Town Cogeneration Plant

The Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL) provides steam power to 225 downtown-area customers including the state Capitol, state office complexes, Lansing Community College, and General Motors. The existing coal-burning steam plant was outdated, and it was decided that a brand-new cogeneration facility plant would best serve the needs of the client and the community. Adjacent to the new power plant, a four-story office building housing administrative offices was also constructed. The new plant dramatically reduced the emission of greenhouse gases by 50 percent in comparison to its previous operations, while simultaneously facilitating the BWL’s goal of reducing overall emissions by 20 percent.

Both the new plant and the office building were LEED certified, with meetings held regularly throughout construction to review designs while tracking LEED points to ensure successful certification. The building’s brick exterior blends well with surrounding historic buildings—great care was taken during the design phase to mask the industrial nature of the building and reduce the sound levels being produced by the plant.