SECOND QUARTER 2006

VOLUME 92

NUMBER 2

District Energy

18

Cover

18 From Waste to Success: Saving district energy in Nashville Harvey W. Gershman, President, Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc.

After nearly 30 years of service, downtown Nashville’s once-innovative waste-to-energy steam and chilled-water plant was increasingly unreliable and costly to operate. In 2000, Mayor Bill Purcell ordered a study of alternatives for the facility. It ultimately led to a unique public-private partnership and creation of a self-sufficient new district energy system. A tour of the system will be available to 2006 annual conference attendees.

5

Features

5 Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Scrap tires viable fuel
in Akron

Kelly M. Dodson, Marketing Manager, Akron Thermal

To cut its natural gas use, Akron Thermal’s district energy plant introduced recycled waste wood as a fuel. But maintaining a consistent waste wood supply was a challenge. Scrap tires proved to be the ideal fuel supplement. Now in its second heating season burning ‘tire-derived fuel,’ the system has achieved dramatic fuel savings.

Departments

3 Chair’s Message 4 President’s Message 16 Conference Travelogue 40 Membership Application 44 Industry News 56 People in the News 57 Members Speak Out 59 Inside Insights 61 Energy and Environmental Policy 62 Question of the Quarter 62 Customer Closeup 63 Meet Our Advertisers 64 Calendar of Events/Dates to Remember

9 District Energy in Southampton: U.K. best practice in
public-private partnership

Simon M. Woodward, Chief Executive, Utilicom Ltd.

Southampton, United Kingdom, may be an unlikely place for a district energy system. But after a government research program drilled a geothermal well there, then abandoned it, city officials sought private-sector help to develop the resource into what is now the largest commercially developed district energy system in the country.

14 WebLink – Designing for the Future: UNC’s new infrastructure
master plan

Thomas Parker, PE, Carter & Burgess; Ray DuBose, PE, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill will add 6 million sq ft of building space over the next decade. When state higher education funding became available, UNC responded by developing an infrastructure master plan to support campus growth. Plans include a new central steam plant. Full article online at www.districtenergy.org/weblink.htm.

ON THE COVER:

Taken from atop Metro Nashville District Energy System’s new plant, this is a view of downtown Nashville, the system’s service area. As evidenced by the cranes, the downtown area is healthy and growing. According to Larry Daughtrey at tennessean.com, “In five years, Nashville is going to be a place which is hard to envision today.” Copyright 2006 Metro Government/Gary Layda.

24 Today’s Solution, Tomorrow’s Advantage: Preview to District
Energy/CHP 2006

With a brand-new district energy system in operation, Nashville is a fitting venue for IDEA’s 97th Annual Conference and Trade Show June 11-14, 2006. Check out this section to see the presentation lineup, identify the vendors you want to visit on the trade show floor and note the Internet address where you can find out more about the host city, Nashville.

41 Campus Energy a Hot Topic: Hundreds attend annual
conference

More than 300 district energy professionals from the U.S. and five other countries congregated in Albuquerque, N.M., in February for the 19th Annual IDEA Campus Energy Conference. Hosted by the University of New Mexico, the event offered outstanding educational and networking opportunities as well as a forum for honoring member systems.