District Energy Now

Volume 12 Number 6 January 1997

Welcome New Members!

Welcome New Members!

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

Joe Beyrle
Application Engineer
Prentice Company
26511 Harding Avenue
Oak Park, MI 48237
(810) 399-5500
(810) 399-5559 fax
referred by Joette Woodard-Yauk and John Hundt of Lansing Board of Water & Light

Thomas L. Ott
President
Richard A. Ingelido
Senior Vice President
Stone & Webster Energy Services
3 Executive Campus
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
(609) 482-3468
(609) 482-4750 fax
referred by Rob Thornton of Northwind Boston and Dominick Chirico of Syska & Hennessy

Brad M. Stevens
President
WCR Incorporated
221 Crane Street
Dayton, OH 45403
(937) 223-0703
(937) 223-2818 fax

Calendar of Events

ASHRAE Winter Meeting
January 25-28, 1997
Philadelphia, PA
Contact: ASHRAE (404) 636-8400

10th Annual IDEA College/University Conference
February 19-21, 1997
Omni Hotel Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA
Contact: IDEA, (202) 429-5111

IDEA Marketing Workshop
March 6-8, 1997
Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel, Philadelphia, PA
Contact: IDEA, (202) 429-5111

28th Biennial Congress and International District Heating Expo
June 9-11, 1997, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Contact: Euroheat & Power - unichal, phone 41 1 211 3635, fax 41 1 221 7063 or E-mail: euroheat@access.ch

88th Annual IDEA Conference & Trade Show
June 14­17, 1997
Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego, CA
Contact: IDEA, (202) 429­5111

12th Annual IDEA Cooling Conference
October 15-17, 1997
Wyndham Hotel, Cleveland, OH
Contact: IDEA, (202) 429-5111

89th Annual IDEA Conference & Trade Show
June 13-16, 1998
Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel, San Antonio, TX
Contact: IDEA, (202) 429­5111

10th Annual College/University Conference Planned for February
Make your plans now to attend IDEA's 10th Annual College/University Conference, February 19-21 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Be sure to register before January 24 to save $40!
This conference is for those college/university professionals who operate or are considering installation of a district heating, cooling or cogeneration system and for consultants and others involved with district energy systems. 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 campus chilled water optimization, campus master planning, alternative energy options and campus steam design will provide information on new technologies and design approaches.
This year's College/University Conference is being held at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia. The hotel is situated on the historic downtown mall, with shops and restaurants within walking distance. The University of Virginia's campus is only 8 blocks away. IDEA has negotiated a special room rate of $83 single/double for this conference. In order to assure room availability please call (804) 971-5500 and make your reservation by January 22, 1997. Make sure to mention that you are attending IDEA's Conference.
This is the second year that table top exhibits will be part of the College/University Conference. If you are interested in purchasing a table top exhibit, and already are an exhibitor at the 88th Annual Conference and Trade Show in June, please call Tammie Jackson, Marketing Manager, at (301) 464-0059. Act fast, space is very limited!
Following is a list of companies that have already made their commitment to exhibit at the conference:

Baltimore Aircoil Company

Carrier Corporation

Diversey Water Technologies, Inc.

DriTherm, Inc.

Kerotest Manufacturing Corporation

Perma-Pipe, Inc.

Pitt-Des Moines, Inc.

RMF Engineering, Inc.

Washington State University

If you need a copy of the preliminary program and registration brochure you can call IDEA's office at (202) 429-5111 or you can find the program on the World Wide Web at http://www.energy.rochester.edu/idea/cu/1997/.

IDEA System of the Year Award Deadline Approaching

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 who furthers the goals of the district energy 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.

Previous winners of this prestigious award include: District Energy St. Paul, Energy Systems Company and Minneapolis Energy Center.

Contact IDEA at (202) 429-5111, for a complete listing of eligibility, submission requirements, criteria and scoring. All submittals must be received by March 31, 1997. The winner of the Award will be announced during the President's Dinner at the 88th Annual IDEA Conference in San Diego, Calif. in June.

Marketing Workshop Scheduled for March

Watch your mail this month for the Preliminary Program and Registration Brochure for the Annual IDEA Marketing Workshop. This year the workshop will be held in Philadelphia, Penn., March 6-8, 1997 at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel.

Nalco Chemical Company Announces Acquisition of Water Treatment Service

Chemicals Business of Albrigth & Wilson

Nalco Chemical Company, an IDEA member, announced on November 18 that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire the water treatment service chemicals business of Albright & Wilson in the United Kingdom.

Nalco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ted Mooney said, "This is another example of our strategy to add to Nalco's growth through targeted, core acquisitions. The water treatment service chemicals business of Albright & Wilson is a very good addition to the Nalco family and we look forward to serving our customers with the most innovative products and services available in the market."

Reno Energy and University of Nevada Announce Plans For World's Largest

Geothermal Heating District

Reno Energy LLC and the University of Nevada, Reno are joining forces to ultimately create the world's largest district heating system by using clean, renewable geothermal heat energy.

The new system claims that it will offer customers heating and cooling at costs 35 to 55 percent less than traditional heating sources like natural gas and oil.

Reno is blessed with nearby major geothermal reserves. Reno Energy, a limited liability company whose principals have more than 10 years of experience in the geothermal energy fields near Reno, will tap into these reserves to create a heating district with the potential to heat 30 million square feet of industrial and commercial space in the fast­growing area south of Reno, Nevada.

Reno Energy and Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation worked together to develop the project and have signed agreements for the engineering and construction of the heating system.

National Opinion Poll Shows Support for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies

A national public opinion survey conducted immediately following the November election, was released on December 11 by a national coalition of business, environmental, consumer, and energy policy organizations, including IDEA. The poll found broad, consistent, and bi-partisan support for federal funding, tax incentives, and appliance efficiency standards to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency technology programs.

Following are some of the key findings of the survey, "America Speaks Out on Energy: A Survey of 1996 Post-Election Views" conducted for the Sustainable Energy Coalition by the polling firm, Research/Strategy/Management, Inc. of Lanham, MD from November 9 to 14 among a sample of 1,200 registered voters.

For the second year in a row, most (71%) Americans view global climate change as a serious environmental threat, and half of the respondents favor the United States signing an international agreement to set a binding deadline for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

As Congress and many states are considering legislation to deregulate the electric industry, voters made clear that they want provisions included to mandate renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental protection. Fifty-three percent of voters favor Congress requiring electricity companies to use renewable energy sources while 44% would leave the choice up to the companies' discretion. Seventy percent of the respondents stated that they want utilities and shareholders -- not consumers -- to bear the cost for uneconomic "stranded nuclear assets."

For the third year in a row, a majority (56%) of all voters would give the highest priority to funding the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development programs.

The Sustainable Energy Coalition is a coalition of more than 40 national business, environmental, consumer, and energy policy organizations founded in 1992 to encourage a shift in federal energy priorities to favor renewable energy and energy efficiency.

FERC Streamlines Utility Merger Policy

On December 18, 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced a revised and streamlined policy of its 30-year old policy for evaluating public utility mergers. The changes are designed to simplify and expedite the processing of merger applications in the new competitive era through faster and more sophisticated analysis.

In the policy statement, the Commission said that it will focus for the most part on three factors in reviewing mergers to see if they are "consistent with the public interest." Mergers will be analyzed for their effect on competition, on rates, and on state and federal regulation. The Commission will use the screening approach of the Department of Justice/Federal Trade Commission Merger Guidelines to determine if a merger will result in an increase in market power.

IDEA Endorses International Climate Change Conference

IDEA has agreed to endorse the 1997 International Climate Change Conference & Technologies Exhibition that will take place June 12-13, 1997 in Baltimore, Maryland. This conference is sponsored by the International Climate Change Partnership, the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of State.

Watch your mail this spring for a copy of the conference program.

International Cogeneration Alliance Formed

The International Cogeneration Alliance is a new ad hoc group of organizations, including IDEA, which have joined together to promote cogeneration and, in particular, to contribute to the international climate change negotiations.

One of the key objectives of the Alliance is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts by capturing the dramatic increase in energy efficiency which cogeneration can produce.

The organizations that have joined the Alliance to date, include:

* COGEN Europe - the European Association for the Promotion of Cogeneration

* International District Energy Association (IDEA)

* Japan Gas Association

* Australian Cogeneration Association

* Combined Heat & Power Association, UK

* CEPEL - Electrical Energy Research Centre, Brazil

* International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC)

The activities of the Alliance will develop significantly over the coming twelve months and it will work with both European and American Business Councils for Sustainable Energy to provide a more progressive industry approach to the challenge of climate change. Its aim is to contribute to the international negotiations on climate change leading up to COP 3 in Japan in December 1997.

For more information, visit the International Cogeneration Alliance web page at: http://www.energy.rochester.edu/ica/ or contact: Erwan Cotard, COGEN Europe, 32 2 772 8290; Fax: 32 2 772 5044; e-mail: 101665.1504@compuserve.com

Swedish District Heating Association Wins Award

The 1996 Major Energy Award was presented to Torbjorn Waldenby, director and previous executive director of the Swedish District Heating Association on December 9, 1996. This award was created by the consultant firm VBB Theorells and the financial daily Dagens Industri.

Ralf Stalebrant, the present managing director of the association expressed his appreciation of what he considered a milestone, the 50 years of close cooperation between the district heating companies in Sweden and the Swedish District Heating Association. Stalebrant stated that, "Winning the Major Energy Award at this time of great development is of course tremendously stimulating and encouraging."

Engineered Systems Touts Thermal Energy Storage

The December issue of Engineered Systems mentions thermal energy storage as a sensible savings alternative in several places.

In the magazine's Q&A section, Robert Carr asked facility managers if they use thermal energy storage at their facility, and if it is in place, what are the benefits and pitfalls? Representatives from three IDEA member universities answered the question: Lanny Joyce of Cornell University, Morris Pierce of the University of Rochester and H. Val Peterson of Arizona State University. The respondents positive comments outweighed any negative comments about thermal energy storage. Most respondents stressed the savings in electricity costs by being able to take advantage of off-peak electrical periods.

Another article in the magazine, "Thermal Energy Storage: It Reduces Energy Consumption, Too," also noted the possible energy savings of TES.

Cinergy, Trigen Energy Form Joint Venture

Cinergy Corp. and Trigen Energy Corporation of White Plains, NY announced on December 10 that they have entered into an agreement to form a joint venture company. Cinergy and Trigen will each own 50% of the new entity, Trigen­Cinergy Solutions LLC.

The move combines Cinergy's power marketing and commodity purchasing strengths with Trigen's expertise in thermal science to provide economic and efficient heating, cooling and electric power. Both parties have aggressively lobbied for deregulation of electricity and support widespread development of local, on­site energy production that will reduce costs, fuel use and pollution.

The joint venture company will build, own and operate cogeneration facilities and trigeneration facilities for industrial plants, office buildings, shopping centers, hospitals, universities and other major energy users that can benefit from combined heat and power production economies. It will also provide energy and asset management services, including fuel procurement, ancillary to the joint venture company's activities.

James E. Rogers, Cinergy vice chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, "With this agreement, we are creating a new era of energy services that will shape the development of the industry. This alliance creates a more effective competitor in the industry by capitalizing on each other's strengths to bring significant benefits to customers."

Construction is already underway on the development of a chilled water system to provide air conditioning for the central business district of Cincinnati. Initial service is expected to commence in April.

Trigen­Cinergy Solutions will have joint headquarters in Cincinnati and White Plains, and will have a six member board with three members appointed by each participating company. Cinergy's Rogers will serve as chairman. The chief executive officer will be Trigen's Göran Mörnhed. M. Stephen Harkness, general manager of corporate development and financial services for Cinergy, will be chief operating officer.

District Heating Increased in Norway in 1995

The total quantity of district heating supplied in Norway rose by nearly 10% from 1994 to 1995. Heat output from district heating reached an estimated 1.4 TWh in 1995. Municipal solid waste remained the main source of energy accounting for over 50% of total heat production. Electric boilers contributed approximately 25%. District heating in Norway is comprised of 20 different systems with pipelines spanning nearly 300 km.

Get Globally Connected¼

 

International District Energy Association's

88th Annual Conference and Trade Show

Global District Energy: Investing in Energy Infrastructure

Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego, California

June 14-17, 1997

Plans are well underway for IDEA's 88th Annual Conference and Trade Show. The conference will offer technical presentations, panel discussions, technical tours and a trade show full of manufacturers and suppliers showcasing their products and services. The conference will also include fun activities for attendees and guests. All attendees and registered guests will be invited to a dinner including free time to see Sea World, a reception in the exhibit hall and the annual President's Banquet.

There are still exhibit and sponsorship opportunities available for this conference. To secure a sponsorship, please contact Tanya Kozel at (202) 429-5111. For information on exhibiting at IDEA's conference, contact Tammie Jackson at (301) 464-0059.

Watch your mail in February for the preliminary program and registration brochure.

Return to IDEA home page.