Industry
News
Biomolecular Engineering, Raleigh, N.C.;
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.; Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.;
Clarkson University, Potsdam, N. Y.; University
of Minnesota, Morris, Minn.; University of
Florida, Gainesville, Fla.; and Environmental
Resources Trust, Washington, D.C.
Additional information on each project
can be found at www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov.
Lucas County Considers
District Energy Plant
Officials in Lucas County, Ohio, are
considering building a central heating and
cooling plant in downtown Toledo, the county
seat, which would serve six county-owned
buildings. The estimated $19 million facility
would be based at the former Children’s
Study Institute on Michigan Street.
County commissioners are receiving
proposals for construction of a system
connecting the plant to the Lucas County
Courthouse, family courthouse, the Adams
Street office complex, Juvenile Detention
Center, jail and the 6th District Court of
Appeals. If this project is implemented and
proves cost-effective, commissioners say
the system could someday be expanded
to include city-and state-owned buildings
as well as privately owned buildings in
Toledo’s central business district.
IDEA was founded in Toledo in 1909.
CHP Conference Convenes
in Indiana
The 2005 Indiana Combined Heat and
Power Conference took place Dec. 7, 2005,
on Purdue University’s Calumet campus. It
was sponsored by Purdue’s Technical
Assistance Program. Manufacturers, universities and other institutions attending
the conference studied how combined
heat and power (CHP) can lower fuel costs
and reduce air pollution.
Hudson’s Bay Co.
Goes Green
Hudson’s Bay Co. is the first retailer to
sign up for Enwave Energy Corp.’s deep
lake water cooling (DLWC) service in Toronto.
The company will tap the DLWC system to
air condition its head office and a store on
Queen Street. The move supports Hudson’s
Bay Co.’s corporate commitment to reduce
its impact on the environment. The company has instructed all its Ontario stores to
reduce energy consumption by 20 percent
to help relieve pressure on Ontario’s power
grid. Established in 1670, Hudson’s Bay Co.
is the largest department store retailer and
oldest corporation in Canada.
Alberta Development
Showcased at Conference
Centre in the Park, a new mixed-use,
environmentally sustainable development
incorporating district energy in Strathcona
County, Alta., Canada, was featured as
part of an exhibit at the Climate Change
Solutions symposium in Montreal. The event,
held Nov. 27-Dec. 2, 2005, was sponsored
by the Government of Canada and the
United Nations’ Conference on Climate
Change. Centre in the Park was among
five projects from Alberta being featured
as initiatives under way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Under construction in the Sherwood
Park community, Centre in the Park will
include residential buildings, retail services
and public spaces. It will be served by a
district heating system expected to generate 18 percent fewer greenhouse gas
emissions than a conventional heating system. Underground piping for the system
was scheduled for installation by the end
of November 2005. The first residential
buildings will be connected to the system
in 2006.
World’s Largest Chiller
Modules Installed
The world’s largest chiller modules
were scheduled for installation in December
2005 in the new Jumeirah Lake Towers
district cooling system being set up by
Palm District Cooling (PDC) in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates. Built by Stellar Group LLC,
the three district cooling plants have
capacities of 35,000 tons, 28,000 tons,
and 42,000 tons. When the first phase of
the project is completed in mid-2006, the
system at total buildout will provide
approximately 140,000 tons of refrigeration to cool 69 high-rise towers currently
under development. The district cooling
systems at Jumeirah Lake Towers and the
Palm Jumeirah Island, both projects of
property developer Nakheel, are the largest
of their kind in the world.
Fortum To Buy Polish System
Finnish utility Fortum announced plans
to purchase the Plocka Energetyka Cieplna
(PEC) district heating system in the city of
Plock, Poland. Subject to approval by the
Polish Competition authority, the acquisition would be Fortum’s fourth district
heating company in Poland. PEC reports
aggregate net sales of approximately 13
million euros (more than $15.5 million)
and 500 GWh of annual heat sales.
Future of Minnesota Power
Plant Studied
According to a Nov. 29, 2005, article
in Minnesota’s West Central Tribune, the
57-year-old power plant in Willmar, Minn.,
is in good overall condition and can continue functioning for five to seven more
years if plant equipment is properly maintained and repaired. That’s the conclusion
of the first phase of a three-phase study
on the future of electric generation and
district heating in the city. The study was
conducted for the Municipal Utilities
Commission by consultants R.W. Beck of
St. Paul and HDR of Minneapolis.
The first phase of the study examined
the plant condition, environmental considerations and operating costs. The second
phase will evaluate options for continued
operation, cogeneration and preliminary
costs. The final phase will look at the best
options identified in the second phase and
present a more refined economic analysis.
The decision to move ahead with the next
two phases of the study will likely be
made in early 2006.
