Watchtower Bible & Tract Society

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., proposes to build a new Audio/Video Production Center at 155 Sterling Mine Road, in the Town of Ramapo, New York. The proposed 21-building, 2.1 million square foot development on 249 forested acres is a facility to produce audio and video/film recordings in an integrated working, living, and worship facility for religious volunteers. The campus is served by an all-electric Central Energy Plant. The mechanical systems are centered on a geothermal field with 215×800′ deep wells utilizing advanced concentric heat exchanger technology. The plant includes four simultaneous heating and cooling centrifugal heat pumps as well as modular scroll compressor geothermal heat pumps. Waste heat generated by cooling equipment and buildings on campus is cycled directly into the heating systems, including the generation of domestic hot water. Rainwater detention and reuse will ensure that no potable water is used for cooling tower makeup. The campus electrical systems will include nearly 3 megawatts of photovoltaic power and a 10-megawatt-hour utility-scale battery. The natural gas-fired emergency generators provide full electrical power backup for the entire campus. The campus microgrid allows for islanded operation during a power outage. The microgrid also allows the campus to participate in demand response programs with Con Edison of Orange & Rockland and the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). To reduce peak domestic hot water loads, passive drain water energy recovery will be employed at each of the more than 700 residential apartments. DM Engineers on a Joint Venture is acting as the commissioning agent from design through construction on the entire project. The project is projected to attain LEED Gold for its major building structures, inclusive of Monitoring base commissioning support. Services included, but were not limited to, reviewing the design documents, developing the commissioning plan, documenting the commissioning process, and participating in the LEED process.