Trade Show Has Grown. There were 18 booth spaces in
the trade show at IDHCA’s annual conference in 1987. In 2009 there will
be nearly or over 90!
Revenue Growth. IDHCA’s revenue was close to $350,000
($595,000 in 2009 dollars) in 1989. IDEA closed out 2008 with
$3.2 million in revenues.
Membership Growth. In 1992 IDHCA’s membership was 575. In
2007 IDEA broke a record, climbing above 1,000 for the first time ever.
IDEA President Hans O. Nyman from
District Energy St. Paul states in his
Fourth Quarter 1990 column in District
Energy magazine that “The lack of
action by the United States on global
warming contrasts sharply with the
responses of other developed nations.
The United States….must start to make
significant progress on reducing carbon
dioxide emissions….District heating and
cooling can help the United States and
Canada to significantly reduce emissions
of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.”
U.S. Secretary of Energy Federico Pena spoke at IDEA’s 89th Annual
Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, in 1998. Pena remarked “The
total amount of waste energy vented into the atmosphere across the
nation is significant. President Clinton last year noted the opportunity
to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by recovering
power plant waste heat
when he emphasized that
‘Today two-thirds of the
energy used to provide
electricity is squandered in
waste heat, We can do much, much better.’” He is shown here at left,
with Steve Swinson outgoing IDEA president (center) and Rob
Thornton, incoming president.
District Energy Growth Recorded.
In 1990 IDHCA began recording the square footage of buildings added
to district energy systems across North America in a document called
“DHC Space.” Over the years the document became “District Energy
Space” and now reports industry growth around the world. In the first
year, 3 million sq ft of space were reported by IDHCA members; in 2007
the cumulative total over the years topped 422 million sq ft, with an
additional 237 million sq ft of space reported in 2007 alone from IDEA’s
President George W. Bush toured District Energy St. Paul’s combined
heat and power plant just before debuting his national energy policy in 2001.
IDEA’s board of directors voted in June 2000 during a meeting in Montreal
to transition to a self-performing association, naming Robert P.
Thornton as president.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched its Combined
Heat and Power (CHP) Partnership in 2001. To date 70 percent of
all partners are IDEA members. Partners are organizations committed to
improving the efficiency of the United States’ energy infrastructure and
reducing the emission of pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Sept. 11, 2001. Terror touched the IDEA community with the
tragic loss of Richard Morgan of Consolidated Edison of New York.
Dick was killed as he answered
Emergency Response Team to
secure the safety of the world’s
received the Norman R. Taylor
the call of duty at the World Trade
Center in his role on the Mayor’s
largest steam system. Dick served
on IDEA’s board of directors and
Award in June 2000, in recognition
of his contributions to the district
energy industry and IDEA. We miss
his wise counsel, his commitment
to sharing knowledge and his warm humility. Dick Morgan was a true
gentleman and a hero.
In 2003 IDEA completed a U.S. Department of Energy-funded survey of
district energy combined heat and power systems at campuses and
airports. The results are still available at www.districtenergy.org/CHP_
