District Energy - 2009 3rd Quarter

maintenance and operational team. All plant investments over the past 11 years have provided savings that exceed the debt service, freeing up funds that can be used for academic and research purposes rather than energy costs. I would have never believed that we could exceed a total efficiency of 80 percent.

And now it is with great pride that I look forward to being the chair of IDEA and to beginning the next 100 years of the association. I will work hard to carry on IDEA’s 100-year tradition of excellence.

Q. What advice would you like to share with people who are new to the district energy and/or CHP industries? A. This is a great business, and there are many simple as well as technologically advanced tools and industry experts available to help you succeed. To position oneself for success, I recommend taking these steps:

1. Install digital controls throughout your plant.

2. Validate the performance of all significant equipment. If you do not measure your performance, you cannot improve.

3. Centrally gather all pertinent data using a historian.

4. Be personally willing to take risk. It is much easier to do nothing, but then you will also get nothing.

5. Position and empower your employees to accept reasonable risk and hire

managers who are willing to take calculated risk.

6. Force yourself to pay for the training that will allow you to use technology to your advantage.

7. Get to know your peers and ask them for advice. Whatever problem you may encounter, someone else out there has most certainly encountered it before you.

8. Also ask for input from industry experts, as you cannot know everything. But make sure you convert it into an action plan; do not just place it on a shelf and forget about it.

9. Be brutally honest with yourself in identifying your weaknesses. The biggest part of solving any problem is knowing that you have a problem.

Q. What do you think is the most valuable aspect of IDEA membership? A. How much knowledge, camaraderie and willingness to share exist in the members of IDEA. But if you do not engage with other members, you will never know this. So engage yourself, share your lessons learned and be open to new ideas.

Q. UT Austin is known for its solid utility operations and high efficiency. What is next for UT Austin? Is there still room for improvement? A. Exceeding 80 percent total efficiency and approaching 90 percent is going to

be tough to beat, but the campus is still growing. About 1 million new square feet are under construction right now, with more expansion to come. Handling this growth effectively will be critical to sustaining the efficiencies we’ve gained.

The most potentially challenging issues at UT Austin may be carbon tax legislation or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement of carbon dioxide emissions restrictions and dealing with impending baby boomer retirements.

Q. When you’re not on the job, what
do you like to do?

A. I like to cook and spend time with the family, and I have been playing tennis for about 40 years. In sports, I have a strong allegiance to the Texas Longhorns because of their infectious sports program; but my heart is deeply rooted with the Texas Western College (now UT El Paso, my alma mater) NCAA champion basketball team of 1966, and of course, the Dallas Cowboys.

I also enjoy studying mineral specimens in my free time. I have extensive knowledge of Mexican mineral specimens because that was my parents’ business. In fact, my father sold many specimens to the Smithsonian Institution that are currently exhibited in its Hall of Geology, Gems, & Minerals.