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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ., June 20, 2007 – Anders Rydaker, president of District Energy St. Paul, received the International District Energy Association’s prestigious Norman R. Taylor Award during ceremonies yesterday at the organization's 98th Annual Conference & Trade Show in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The award is the highest distinction IDEA can confer on an individual as ‘person of the year,’ recognizing that person's career achievements and contributions to the association and the district energy and combined heat and power industries.

IDEA's 2006-2007 Chair Gary Rugel, director of global thermal storage and district energy at EVAPCO, presented the award. “The Norm Taylor Award stands for exceptional leadership – a quality shared by the award’s namesake and Anders Rydaker. With Anders at the helm, District Energy St. Paul has become one of the world’s pre-eminent district energy companies, thanks to his industry knowledge, sound energy planning and engineering expertise. He is highly respected by his colleagues for the strategic vision and enthusiasm he has contributed to IDEA and other district energy organizations, including in Sweden. Anders is an outstanding ambassador for our industry, and a gentleman.”

Award recipients are selected annually by a committee comprised of IDEA members and industry peers. The award was named for Norman R. Taylor, who was IDEA's president from 1977 to 1978, and executive director from 1980 until he passed away in 1986. He was known for boldly setting goals, preparing for the future and treating individuals with genuine kindness.

Rydaker has been a member of IDEA for nearly 25 years and served as association chair from 2004 to 2005.

A native of Sweden, Rydaker has more than 35 years of experience in the district energy field. He was with the Uppsala, Sweden, district energy utility for 15 years, holding numerous management positions. He began his work in the U.S. in 1983 providing on-site consulting service during construction of St. Paul’s hot water district heating distribution system and conversion of a steam heating plant. In 1990, he introduced district cooling to the Swedish market and successfully developed the innovative cooling system for Stockholm using deep lake water cooling.

He has been president of District Energy St. Paul and District Cooling St. Paul since 1993. Both systems serve the central business district of St. Paul, Minn. Rydaker is also chief manager of Market Street Energy, a District Energy St. Paul affiliate, which operates a biomass-fueled combined heat and power plant that fuels the district energy system. (For more on the St. Paul systems, go to www.districtenergy.COM.)

In 2003, Rydaker received Sweden’s Prestigious Energy Prize for pioneering district cooling in the country. In 2001, Rydaker hosted President George W. Bush for a tour of District Energy St. Paul before the president presented his first energy policy address to the nation. In that address, Bush called District Energy St. Paul a model of energy efficiency, diversity and affordability.