The University of California, Davis, has been transitioning from its existing steam generation and distribution system to a Low-Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) generation system through a series of phased projects known as the "Big Shift," which began in 2017. This project will make significant additions and improvements to the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) plant. The current TES plant houses four 2,000- ton conventional chillers and a five-million-gallon TES tank for chilled water storage. This design-build project will include the installation of an aboveground hot water TES tank, the replacement of two existing conventional chillers located in the TES plant building with heat recovery chillers, the replacement of two primary chilled water pumps, the construction of a building for the new hot water infrastructure, new primary and secondary hot water supply pumps, a new electrical feed from the nearest high-voltage switch station, new electrical switchgear, and new medium-voltage electrical substations. The new TES tank will serve as a supplemental source of hot water and provide campus with the ability to operate the district heating system more efficiently.
