District Energy Now

Volume 11 Number 5 - December 1995

Welcome New Members!

We hope you will join us in welcoming the following new members of IDEA!

James S. Elleson
President
Elleson Engineering
4671 Highway JJ
Black Earth, WI 53515
(608) 767-3553
(608) 767-3503 fax

A.J. Finnin
President
Finnin & Associates, Inc.
204 Evergreen Court
Pearl River, LA 70452
(504) 863-3407
(504) 863-7866 fax

Charalambos Georgitsogiannakos
Head of M.E.
EMECO Consultants
4G, Patision St.
Athens 10652 Greece
(01) 82-32-076
(01) 99-11-175 fax

Edward Murphy
Deputy Manager
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Plant Engineering
Bldg. 134C
Upton, NY 11973-5000
(516) 282-3466
(516) 282-2884 fax
referred by Nicholas Cavagnaro, Trigen-Nassau Energy Corporation

David A. Rogers
Principal
Rogers & Associates, Inc.
1767 Tribute Road
Suite J
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916) 920-5965
(916) 920-9239 fax
referred by Robert Reid, Stanford University

Calendar of Events

POWER-GEN '95 Americas
December 5-7, 1995
Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA
Contact: PennWell Conferences and Exhibitions, (713) 963-6259

1996 ASHRAE Winter Meeting
February 17-21, 1996
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA
Contact: ASHRAE, (800) 5-ASHRAE or (404) 636-8400
ASHRAE Winter Meeting Program

IDEA 9th Annual College/University Conference
February 21-23, 1996
The Hyatt Rickeys Hotel, Palo Alto, CA
Hosted by Stanford University
Contact: IDEA (202) 429-5111, Tanya Vetter
Conference program and hotel information

Marketing Workshop
March 7-9, 1996
Marriott City Center, Denver, CO
Contact: IDEA, (202) 429-5111 or Marketing Forum Chairman Jon Wohl, (215) 875-6900 ext. 169.

87th Annual IDEA Conference and Tradeshow
June 8-12, 1996
The Sheraton Washington Hotel, Washington, D.C.
Contact: IDEA, (202) 429-5111

11th Annual Cooling Conference
October 2-4, 1996
The Midland Hotel, Chicago, IL
Contact: IDEA, (202) 429-5111

Washington, DC Meeting Watch

What? When? Where?

Plans are well underway for IDEA's 87th Annual Conference and Tradeshow, June 8-12, 1996 at the Sheraton Washington Hotel in Washington, DC.

A Call for Papers was mailed in October. Abstracts are due by December 15, 1995 and final papers will be due April 12, 1996. For a copy of the Call For Papers or the author guidelines contact: IDEA, 1200 19th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 429-5111, (202) 429-5113 or e-mail tanya_vetter@sba.com.

Exhibit space at the Tradeshow is going fast. If you would like to have the opportunity to exhibit your products and services to over 400 attendees, contact Tammie Jackson or Stephanie Mattes at IDEA to receive information.

To date the following companies have reserved their spaces for the Tradeshow:

Keep watching this box for more meeting updates!

College/University Conference Update

The Preliminary Program and Registration brochure for the 9th Annual College/University Conference is being mailed the first week in December. The meeting is being held February 21-23, 1995 at the Hyatt Rickeys Hotel in Palo Alto, California. Stanford University will act as host of this meeting and their physical plant will be visited on the technical tours.

The theme of this year's conference is Utility Business Operations in the 90s. This conference is for those college/ university professionals who operate or are considering installation of a district heating, cooling or cogeneration system. The technical sessions will focus on problems and solutions applicable to a campus environment as identified by the College/ University Forum of IDEA. Key people having experience in the subject areas will provide information on new technologies and design approaches. Topics will include plant and distribution systems, business aspects of district energy systems, operations and an overview of the practical benefits to district energy systems due to the changing electric market. The format of the conference will encourage the participation of all attendees.

Marketing Workshop Planned for March

The annual Marketing Workshop is planned for March 7-9, 1996 at the Marriott City Center in Denver, Colorado. If you are interested in participating in the program, call Jon Wohl, Marketing Forum Chairman at 215-875-6900 ext 169.

Watch for more details and a preliminary program!

District Energy On-Line

Have you surfed the World Wide Web lately? Next time you are on-line, take a look at the information that is on the web about district energy. You can do a search for district energy, district heating, district cooling, or cogeneration and find the home page for IDEA. We are still working on adding more information but currently you can find the calendar of upcoming meetings, the District Energy Buyer's Guide, an index of articles and general information about the association.

If you have a web browser, look up http://www.history.rochester.edu/de//. If you have any problems you can e-mail tanya_vetter@sba.com or Morris Pierce at mapi@dbv.cc.rochester.edu.

About 70 people are now subscribed to Holly, the district energy listserv maintained by Morris Pierce at the University of Rochester. The listserv is named after Birdsill Holly, founder of the commercial district heating industry. Subscribers send and receive information though Internet e-mail, which can be accessed through CompuServe, America On-Line, Prodigy, and other Internet service providers. Typical messages include information of interest to the district energy community, including new cogeneration and retail wheeling developments. Subscribers can also send questions to the listserv and receive answers from a wide range of district energy professionals also on the listserv.

There is no charge for subscribing and everyone interested in district energy topics is welcome to join. To subscribe, send a message to: mailserv@dbv.cc.rochester.edu with no subject and with the message: subscribe holly. You will then receive information on how to use the listserv features. If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to e-mail Morris Pierce at mapi@dbv.cc.rochester.edu.

DOE Official Keynotes Cooling Conference

Karl R. Rábago, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Utility Technologies at the U.S. Department of Energy, presented the keynote speech at the Tenth Annual Cooling Conference in Miami. His talk "Into the Convergence Zone: Hope for Renewables and Efficiency at Last?" addressed the relationships between the converging trends including electric utility restructuring, the telecommunications revolution, increasing energy demand and environmental concerns.

Rábago noted that electricity is not currently a true "service" but it will become one as these trends converge. He suggested that these forces "will create a premium market and policy preference for energy service solutions like district heating and cooling and other efficiency technologies and systems." In contrast to the older model of central power stations and transmission, the trend is toward "distributed" utilities facilitated by improvements in telecommunications and information technology. This trend will encourage renewable energy and district heating and cooling. Rábago stated that district heating and cooling options can not only share in, but lead the way to realization of markets for renewable energy. He said district energy is extremely well suited to deriving maximum value out of distributed generation sources like renewable energy,

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Workshop Addressed District Energy

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Workshop on Waste Heat Recovery and Cogeneration, held in Singapore on November 11- 13, included a presentation on district energy by Mark Spurr of Resource Efficiency, Inc. The purpose of the workshop was to communicate information about waste heat recovery and cogeneration and to identify opportunities and constraints import in expanding their use within the Asia Pacific region. Spurr's presentation, "Energy Efficiency Through District Energy and Cogeneration," discussed the benefits of cogeneration which can be achieved through district energy systems, with a particular emphasis on district cooling.

"District Energy Growth" is the Topic of Discussion

The article, "District Energy Growth," appeared in the November 1995 issue of Independent Energy. The article describes the growth that is occurring in the district energy industry which has lead to competition in the industry. Tom Casten of Trigen Energy Corporation, a past president of IDEA, is quoted extensively. John Fiegel, executive director of IDEA, is quoted as saying, "It's an exciting time for the industry." The author concludes that the "once moribund industry faces a healthy future."

IDEA is considering ordering reprints of this article. If you are interested in participating in a bulk order, please contact IDEA by January 5, 1996.

Minneapolis Energy Center Connects the North to the West

Late this July the Minneapolis Energy Center began construction to connect the north and west sections of their district cooling system between Marquette and Third avenues on Sixth Street. When completed, nearly 900 total feet of 16-inch chilled-water supply and return lines will be installed.

"The next step is to bring chilled-water and steam lines down to the new courthouse," says Gary Gustafson, director of engineering. "Although we're adding a new customer, we're also increasing the steam capacity in the area to accommodate future growth." All piping construction was completed by the beginning of December.

IDEA Supports Proposal for Privatizing Federal Energy Facilities

The IDEA board of directors has passed a resolution supporting the creation of the "Forrestal Institute," a non-profit entity designed to facilitate private investment in federal energy

facilities. The federal government, particularly the Department of Defense (DOD), faces daunting budgetary constraints in upgrading its energy infrastructure to meet environmental standards, increase energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Legislation has been drafted to create the Forrestal Institute and a sister Marshall Institute to overcome many of the barriers to private investment in DOD energy facilities, including power plants and district heating and cooling systems.

Onsite Energy Signs Consulting Agreement with Solar Turbines

Osite Energy Corporation, an IDEA member, announced November 2 that it signed a $143,000 contract with Solar Turbines Incorporated to provide market research and commercialization support services for Solar and its Advanced Turbine Systems (ATS) program. Anticipated completion date for the contract is June 1996.

The Solar ATS program is a $165 million cooperative initiative between Solar and the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a new line of gas turbine systems that are expected to be approximately 50 percent more energy efficient and emit approximately 75 percent fewer pollutants than do currently available products, while lowering the cost of producing electric power by at least 10 percent. Solar is a subsidiary of Caterpillar, the world's leading manufacturer of construction and earthmoving equipment, and a leading supplier of diesel and natural gas engines.

IDEA Exhibits at Conferences

IDEA staff members, Tammie Jackson and Tanya Vetter, attended the Association of Energy Engineers Plant & Facilities Expo in Atlanta, November 8-10, 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia. They came back from the expo with many new member prospects.

IDEA members, Jeff Duncan of Nova Industra and Marion King of Stanford University, will be staffing the IDEA booth at the upcoming POWER-GEN '95 Americas, December 5-7, 1995. IDEA would like to thank them for volunteering to exhibit at this show on behalf of the association.

People in the News

Dennis Ciemniecki, IDEA Distribution Forum Co-Chairman, has taken a position with Elizabeth Town Water System in Elizabeth Town, New Jersey.

Michael E. McKay, past president of IDEA, is a member of the Coalition for Competitive Energy's Steering Committee. This coalition has been working closely with New Jersey state government policy makers to help guide them in their efforts to re-examine the State's Gross Receipts and Franchise Tax (GRFT) structure. GRFT is a tax imposed upon the sale of energy (either gas or electricity) by public utilities within the state.

McKay and other coalition members met with Governor Whitman's counsel and will be meeting with legislators and cabinet members in the coming weeks. Also a member of the steering committee is Adam Kaufman, executive director of the Independent Energy Producers of New Jersey (IEPNJ) and an IDEA member. Additionally, McKay is serving on a blue-ribbon panel formed to evaluate the feasibility of privatizing the district energy system serving the U.S. Capitol and House and Senate Office buildings.

Competition is Heating Up for the System of the Year Award

The System of the Year Award was created in 1992 as an annual award to recognize an outstanding district energy system which exemplifies high levels of performance and furthers the goals of the district heating and cooling industry. The award serves to: provide an industry benchmark for overall excellence; provide a platform for sharing ideas and efforts that have made systems successful; identify and recognize systems that illustrate the overall importance of district heating and cooling in the marketplace and in the long-term energy picture; and further publicize district heating and cooling as a progressive industry that seeks constant improvement in the services it provides.

In order to be eligible for the award systems must meet the following criteria:

  • Subject system and/or system representative must be a member in good standing of IDEA or be managed by an entity that is a member in good standing of IDEA.
  • The system must have been in operation for at least two (2) years. Start of operation is determined by date of continuous service to first customer or facility.
  • Contact Tanya Vetter at IDEA, (202) 429-5111, for a complete listing of eligibility, submission requirements, criteria and scoring. All submittals must be received by March 30, 1996. The winner of the Award will be announced during the President's Dinner at the IDEA 87th Annual Conference in Washington, DC in June.

IDEA Participates in IEA Workshop

IDEA President Joette Woodard-Yauk and Legislative Director Mark Spurr participated in a recent International Energy Agency (IEA) workshop in Toronto. The purpose of the workshop was to identify ways that IEA and other programs which relate to sustainable community energy systems can be better integrated and coordinated. The relevant IEA research programs include:

  • District Heating and Cooling
  • Energy Conservation in Building and Community Systems
  • Energy Storage
  • Heat Pumps
  • Solar Heating/Cooling
The meeting included a one-day plenary session with presentations on key issues and case studies, followed by a one-day session in which the participants broke up into six discussion groups to identify recommendations for IEA program priorities. Woodard-Yauk and Spurr participated in two different discussion groups and each reported to the wrap-up plenary session on the results from their group. There was general agreement that, in addition to sponsoring technology R&D, IEA and other relevant organizations need to focus more on ways to overcome the institutional and policy obstacles to integrating sustainable community energy systems.

District Energy Highlighted in APEC Workshop

Mark Spurr of Resource Efficiency, Inc. traveled to Singapore during November to make a presentation on district energy at the request of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). APEC is an organization of economies in the Asia-Pacific region dedicated to improved coordination relative to trade and other matters, including energy. Economies represented at the workshop included China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Phillipines, Thailand and the U.S.

The presentation, titled "Energy Efficiency Through District Energy and Cogeneration," described the benefits of district energy, with a particular emphasis on district cooling, and included summary information on five case examples from around the world. The comparative efficiencies of different options for combining district cooling with cogeneration were also addressed. Based on discussions during and after the meeting, Spurr believes there is a strong potential for district cooling with thermal storage in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in southeast Asia. "Growing power requirements combined with a trend toward more competitive power markets will make district cooling an attractive business in southeast Asia," he stated.

Government Relations Monitoring System to be Tested in Early 1996

Starting January 1, 1996, IDEA will conduct a 3-month test of a system for tracking legislative and regulatory developments in order to identify and communicate items of potential interest to the membership. Computer databases and clipping services will be used to identify federal and state legislative proposals, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and media coverage of developments which may be of interest to the IDEA and its members. A variety of mechanisms for communicating information to the membership are being considered, but will certainly include dissemination of information through this newsletter.

IDEA Working with EPA on Emission Credit Protocols

IDEA and other interested stakeholders are advising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the EPA prepares a guidance document for quantifying marketable emission credits under the proposed Open Market Trading Rule (OMTR). Legislative Director Mark Spurr has been evaluating draft EPA proposals and documents prepared by other stakeholders relating to how to structure protocols for quantifying the amount of marketable emission credits created through a wide variety of actions, such as the connection of buildings to a district energy system. Through conference calls and one-on-one phone conversations, Spurr has worked to ensure that the EPA guidance will not hinder recognition of credits created through district energy service. He is in the process of preparing written comments to EPA on the quantification protocol issues.

 

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