A casino has clean energy in the cards

Cogeneration plant will power Revel's project in Atlantic City

By Jared Kaltwasser

...Frank DiCola, president of DCO Energy and Energenic, said energy-efficient plants like the cogen facility are becoming more popular for heavy energy users looking to drive down operational costs.

"As people get squeezed with the costs of services and so forth - and the uncertainty, somewhat, in the energy markets, in terms of where we're headed as a country - people are looking for alternatives," DiCola said.

ACR will own and maintain the energy center and sell its energy to Revel. The company also is looking for other clients in the area to be serviced by the facility, DiCola said.

"One of the keys to that is having the density of customers around the casino," DiCola said. "It's very attractive."

DiCola said DCO and South Jersey Industries partnered on an energy center for the Borgata casino several years back, and out of that relationship grew the Energenic partnership. Energenic has gone on to develop a strong client base within the casino industry, helping the company develop projects both here and in Las Vegas.

While cogen and other new technologies have become more popular, DiCola said, the economics don't always work.

"Not all cogen projects make sense," he said. "We like to dig in and make sure we understand what the customer's requirements are."When an energy project does go forward, there are a lot of pieces and parties.