District Energy

1st Quarter 1997 | Volume 82 Number 3

Reducing Air Emissions Through District Heating and Cooling

R. Gordon Bloomquist, Ph.D., Title, Washington State Energy Office

District energy's ability to reduce air emissions is well-established in Nordic countries. For instance, Sweden's capital, Stockholm, achieved a 90 percent reduction in SO₂ emissions between 1965 and 1990, attributable in part to the almost 10-fold increase in space heated by the district system. Yet district energyís environmental benefits are not widely accepted by U.S. policy makers due in part to a historical lack of methods that quantify air-emissions reductions. The use of computer models including DETECT and HEATMAP is bound to help close this gap.

FEATURES

The Customer's Perspective: BOMA on Environmental Regulatory Issues

In an interview with District Energy magazine, Gerard Lavery Lederer, Esq., CAE, vice president of government and industry affairs for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, shares his observations about environmental regulatory issues, such as chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) phaseout and indoor air quality. In addition he offers insight to the most immediate challenges faced by building owners and managers including the future of utility deregulation.

Environmental, Health and Safety Compliance Management Systems: Does Your Company Need One?

Mark Hall, EHS Programs, Trigen Energy Corporation

How does your company ensure it is meeting federal, state and local regulations governing such areas as asbestos management, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), hazard communication, lockout/tagout, confined space, air emissions, emergency planning, spill-response planning and wastewater discharge? Developing a formal Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) compliance system that is integrated with a company's other management systems may be the best answer. A typical compliance management system may include policies and procedures, compliance management manuals, EHS auditing, incident investigation and EHS measurements.

A Profile in Environmental Compliance: Birmingham's Coal-Fired Steam System

Dale Dambach, Plant Superintendent, Alabama Power Co.

The coal-fired Birmingham District Steam System has successfully met the most stringent emissions requirements through careful monitoring of opacity standards, SO₂ and NO_X levels, coal-handling procedures, ash-handling procedures and flue-gas exhaust control. Alabama Power Co.'s conversion of 200,000 lb/hr capacity to coal in 1984 resulted in a 24 percent reduction in the price of steam from 1984 to 1988. The company has retained its coal permit for more than a decade. Plus relative price stability has helped push current sales to the highest level in the system's 92-year history.

Are Your Steam Traps Wasting Your Product?

Norman J. Rivers, Manager of Energy Management Services, Armstrong International Inc.

Steam systems throughout the continent and around the world may be able to maximize their returns by minimizing waste from their steam-distribution and condensate-return systems. Specifying the best steam trap for each application is one of the most effective ways to progress toward this goal. This overview of steam traps including inverted-bucket, float & thermostatic, thermostatic and controlled disc traps could help reduce steam product loss.

On the Cover

Icelandic cities such as this one have few smokestacks and associated plumes even in the middle of winter - greatly due to the substantial use of geothermal district heating.

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