Industry
News
The new combustion turbine inlet
cooling chapter provides discussion on how
the cooling is used to help improve combustion turbine performance. It was added
to address use of such cooling to improve
the environmental and economic performance of combustion turbine installations,
typically used for electric power generation.
Available in print or in CD format, the
handbook can be ordered at www.ashrae.
org/bookstore.
Seattle Steam Biomass
Project Moves Forward
Seattle Steam Co. announced in June
that it has secured financing a build a facility
that will generate thermal energy from
‘urban waste wood’ using wood products
such as broken pallets and crates, clean
construction demolition waste, tree trimmings and land clearing.
The official announcement came after
the company received word that the U.S.
House Appropriations Committee approved
a spending bill that included a total of $1.0
million in funding for clean-energy initiatives
in the Puget Sound area, $500,000 of which
is earmarked for Seattle Steam’s biomass
system. U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) helped
secure funding for the project, which was
also backed by U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott
(D-Wash.)
“The challenges this project faced were
substantial,” says Stan Gent, president and
CEO. This support from the federal government is a major milestone in reaching its
ultimate success and could not have come
at a better time as construction is just now
under way.”
The approved legislation will need to
win passage on the House floor and get
reconciled with a companion Senate spending bill, which is expected to soon move
through the committee process in that
chamber. Then, it would need final approval
from Congress and the president’s signature.
Seattle Steam also recently announced
it has become a Founding Reporter of The
Climate Registry. By becoming a Reporter,
Seattle Steam voluntarily commits to
measure, independently verify, and publicly
report its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
on an annual basis utilizing The Climate
Registry General Reporting Protocol. The
protocol is based on the internationally recognized GHG measurement standards of
the World Resources Institute and World
Business Council on Sustainability.
The Climate Registry is a non-profit
organization established to measure and
publicly report greenhouse gas emissions in a
common, accurate and transparent manner
consistent across industry sectors and borders. Thirty-nine U.S. states, eight Canadian
provinces, three Native American tribes, six
Mexican states and the District of Columbia
are the founders of the organization.
“Seattle Steam has demonstrated exemplary environmental leadership by becoming
one of the first to join the organization,
courageously stepping forward to support
The Climate Registry in its preliminary stages.
We are deeply grateful for its integral support
in helping to address the challenge of climate
change,” said Gina McCarthy, chair of The
Climate Registry.
Once Seattle Steam begins its use of
biomass, it would be in a position to sell its
newly generated carbon credits through
programs such as the Climate Trust Fund
out of Oregon. However, that is not its current plan. Instead it intends to use the carbon
reduction credits to the benefit of its customers to help them to reduce their carbon
footprints directly.
“Seattle Steam likes to think of itself as
the energy manager for its customers,” says
Stan Gent, president of Seattle Steam. “Our
customers have advantages not normally
experienced by buildings that operate their
own on-site boilers. An individual building
isn’t likely to be able to use biomass and
obtain the associated carbon reduction credits
on its own.”
Seattle Steam Company is now in its
115th year of providing steam service to
downtown Seattle.
Johnson Controls System
Honored by ASME
At a May 28 event, the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
announced its designation of Johnson
Controls Inc.’s automatic temperature control
system as a Historic Mechanical Engineering
Landmark. The invention of the first reliable
and economical multizone temperature
control system in 1895 by Johnson Controls
founder Warren S. Johnson led to massive
growth at the company and helped launch
the modern building controls industry.
S. Allan Johnson, great-grandson of the
inventor, attended the event along with more
than 200 Johnson Controls employees,
retirees and customers.
The event featured the unveiling of
a bronze landmark plaque that is being
mounted on the Johnson Controls building
efficiency headquarters in Milwaukee. The
facility, one of the first Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED®)-certified
buildings in the world, now also includes a
showcase of actual components from an
1895-era Johnson controls system.
The ASME historic landmark designation is the eighth in Wisconsin and one of
about 250 worldwide.
Mizzou Wins Energy-
Efficiency Award
The University of Missouri (MU) in April
received a National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
Energy Efficiency Award in recognition of its
energy efficiency and conservation efforts.
MU was one of eight colleges and universities
honored as part of the NWF’s “Chill Out:
Campus Solutions to Global Warming”
competition.
Winners of the competition were chosen
through an essay contest; an MU student
wrote the essay on behalf of the university.
The $1,000 grant received by MU from the
contest will be used by the Student Energy
Conservation Society for a research project
on biodiesel.
Since 1990, when MU began an energy
conservation program, campus energy expenditures have been reduced by 19 percent
while campus space has grown by nearly
60 percent. Energy costs have decreased
by $4 million annually, and emissions have
been reduced by 96,000 tons. Last October,
the MU power plant began replacing up to
