Energy Success Stories Featured at Record-Setting International District Energy Association Conference in D.C.

Energy efficiency, sustainable systems a focus

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bucking challenging economic times and conference attendance trends, the International District Energy Association will set an attendance record at its 100th Annual Conference & Trade Show “District Energy/CHP 2009: Local Energy, Global Solution.” The conference is being held just outside Washington, D.C., at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City June 28-July 1.

“There is an increased interest in leveraging the strengths of district energy and combined heat and power to help cities, communities and college campuses optimize their energy efficiency, enhance energy security and cut harmful emissions”

More than 600 people from 15 countries will gather for the association’s centennial conference, up from 450 attendees in 2008. “There is an increased interest in leveraging the strengths of district energy and combined heat and power to help cities, communities and college campuses optimize their energy efficiency, enhance energy security and cut harmful emissions,” says Robert P. Thornton, president of IDEA. “We’ve put together a program of real-life applications that demonstrate technologies that already work and are delivering for our economy and the environment.”

Featured plenary session speakers Monday are Phil Sharp, president of Resources for the Future; Olivier Barbaroux, chairman of Veolia Energy-Dalkia; and Thomas Casten, chairman of Recycled Energy Development Ltd.

Sharp’s Resources for the Future is the oldest Washington think tank devoted exclusively to policy analysis on energy, environmental and natural resource issues. He previously served 11 terms as a Congressman from Indiana with key appointments to energy and environment committees.

Barbaroux reports that Paris-based Veolia Energy-Dalkia has 52,800 employees in 41 countries and operates 800 urban and local heating and cooling systems. The company has combined managed revenue of $11.9 billion (8.6 billion euro). In 2008, Dalkia prevented the discharge of 5.6 million tonnes of CO₂, a reduction of 20 percent more than 2007.

Casten has spent 30 years developing and operating combined heat and power plants as a way to lower carbon dioxide emissions and save money. Casten has co-authored “Getting the Most from Energy” with Phil Schew, where they conclude “we can’t afford to send the large majority of our energy unused, into the sky.”

A special session features presentations from award-winning district energy systems sharing their success stories of energy-efficiency and sustainable solutions. Keeping customers comfortable by using surplus heat, biomass, deep lake water cooling, innovative thermal storage, and more, the systems represent communities across the United States, plus one in Canada.

Arizona – Phoenix – Northwind Phoenix, a subsidiary of APS Energy Services

Maryland – Baltimore – Veolia Energy North America – Trigen-Baltimore System

Minnesota – Minneapolis – NRG Energy Center Minneapolis

Minnesota – St. Paul – District Energy St. Paul

Nebraska – Omaha – Energy Systems Co.

New York – Ithaca – Cornell University

New York – New York – Consolidated Edison of New York Steam Operations

Ohio – Cincinnati – University of Cincinnati

Ontario, Canada – Toronto – Enwave Energy Corp.

Tennessee – Nashville – Constellation Energy Project & Services Group

Washington – Seattle – Seattle Steam Co.

Each has won IDEA’s annual System of the Year Award at least once since 1993. Consolidated Edison of New York is the only system to have garnered the award twice – in 2000 and 2007. The University of Missouri and UCLA also have received awards, but are unable to attend the session.

An extensive poster exhibition covers district energy as a near-term greenhouse gas strategy, innovative smart grid solution, and infrastructure solution for local green communities development. Other topics include district energy’s fuel flexibility and energy security, combined heat and power, and LEED^® and ENERGY STAR^® buildings connected to district energy systems.

The conference trade show features nearly 90 national and international exhibitors, all with district energy and/or combined heat and power-related experience. A full list of exhibitors is available at http://tinyurl.com/IDEAexhibitors.

The full program is available for download at http://tinyurl.com/DEConference2009. Media passes and kits are available by showing credentials at the on-site conference registration desk.

District energy is an efficient, environmentally responsible method of heating and cooling buildings. District energy systems produce steam, hot water or chilled water at a central plant. The steam or water is then piped underground to individual buildings within a designated area for heating, cooling or use in industrial processes. District energy is energy efficient, environmentally sound, easy to operate and maintain, reliable, comfortable and convenient, has lower life-cycle costs and offers design flexibility. A video about how the technology works is at http://www.districtenergy.org/DE_How_It_Works.wmv.

Combined heat and power is a proven, effective technology to increase the efficiency of power plants. Standard power plants effectively convert just 40 percent of the fuel they burn into useful electricity. Sixty percent of the fuel ends up being wasted up the smokestack or into waterways as surplus or ’waste’ heat. Combined heat and power systems recover and use this surplus heat to heat and/or cool buildings in a surrounding area through a district energy system.

About the International District Energy Association

With headquarters outside of Boston, Mass., the 1,200-plus-member IDEA was founded in 1909 and comprises district heating and cooling executives, managers, engineers, consultants and equipment suppliers from 25 countries. Its core mission is to support the growth and utilization of district energy as a means to conserve fuel and increase energy efficiency to improve the global environment. During its 100 years of operation, the association has held a conference every year except 1918 when it was cancelled because of World War I. For more on IDEA, go to www.districtenergy.org.