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MWh per year and offering potential energy
savings of more than 90 percent compared
to conventional air conditioning. The program
would also displace more than 43,000 barrels
of oil and 21,000 tons of carbon emissions
per year.
ADB, Dalkia Support
Energy Projects in China
The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
and Paris-based Dalkia announced June 19
they have entered a multi-project loan agreement to finance a series of district heating,
district cooling and cogeneration projects in
the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to
improve energy efficiency and reduce air
pollution.
Under the agreement, the ADB funding
support comprises a loan of up 1. 4 billion
Chinese yuan renminbi ($201.3 million) funded by ADB and another loan of up 1. 4 billion
funded by international or local banks under
participation agreements with ADB. This is
ADB’s first private-sector district energy project.
ADB funding will be extended to joint
ventures established by Dalkia Asia and local
partners to finance rehabilitation and expansion of district energy and cogeneration
infrastructure. Dalkia’s joint ventures will
manage district energy systems and deliver
reliable heat supply to residential, industrial
and commercial customers. Dalkia expects to
commence operations of eight to 10 joint
ventures from 2008 to 2013.
Heating systems and coal-fired stoves
consume almost half of the PRC’s coal and
are the largest single-point sources of urban
air pollution.
Austria Sets CO2 Emission
Reduction Measures
Reuters reported in May that Austria’s
government agreed to measures that will
double the proportion of alternative energy
generated to 15 percent over seven years.
“With this new law we can achieve 15
percent alternative energy in Austria by 2015,
a doubling, with the emphasis on wind
energy and hydro power,” Environment
Minister Josef Proell told reporters.
“This produces half the CO2 savings
that we wanted to achieve by 2012,” Chan-
cellor Alfred Gusenbauer said.
Measures will also be taken to promote
solar energy.
The annual investment would be about
180 million euros ($279 million), some 60
million euros a year going to support an
expansion of district heating.
“This is the biggest ever investment in
district heating, which is the most efficient
way of reducing CO2 emissions in Austria,”
Gusenbauer said.
The country’s Green party, however,
called the package laughable. “This is just a
minor cosmetic improvement to the disastrous (environmental energy law) amendment
from 2006 and is a long way from the alternative energy requirements that Germany
has in its renewable energy law,” said Eva
Glawischnig, the spokeswoman for the
Green party in parliament Eva Glawischnig
in a statement.
New Steam Plant Possible
at University of Alabama
at Birmingham
The Birmingham News reported in June
that the University of Alabama at Birmingham
may have to spend $85 million to $95 million
to construct a new steam plant to replace
one provided by Alabama Power, according
to university officials during a presentation
to the University of Alabama.
Alabama Power, which currently provides
steam to 19 buildings at UAB, is ending its
service contract with the school as of February 2013. The company is closing its steam
plant downtown and a smaller plant due to
cost. UAB currently pays Alabama Power
about $7 million a year for steam.
The school will likely build its own new
steam plant or take over an existing Alabama
Power plant, according to Brooks Baker,
associate vice president for facilities at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham. Either
option will require digging up streets to
install steam lines, as the old lines are leaky
and inefficient. The school depends on
Alabama Power’s steam for heating, hot
water and sterilization in its hospitals and
laboratories.
The university also provides its own
steam to about 26 other buildings.
