Chair’s
Message
Icannot help but feel optimistic about our future and that of the International District Energy Association. Yes, the future may
look uncertain with the economic downturn
still a factor and climate change legislation
pending, but to have more than 700 conference attendees in such a grand setting as
Washington, D.C., and to hear U.S. Secretary
of Commerce Gary Locke’s level of understanding of our industry, one cannot help
but be confident that the future will be
bright. I was deeply honored to accept the
role as your new chairman in front of so
many attendees and so many award winners,
past presidents and chairs.
IDEA’s economic strength is better than
ever, which will support our members’
strong desire to learn from each other and
share proven technology and case studies
to get us through these turbulent times.
I joined IDEA in 1999 to learn from the
association and make the critical contacts
that I needed to improve our systems and
help us meet the growing energy needs at
The University of Texas at Austin. I continue
to be impressed by members’ skills and
knowledge. It was especially important to
hear from past presidents like Tom Casten.
Dennis Fotinos did a great job as our
chair over the past year. I am pleased to
say that the 2008-2009 board was one of
the most dynamic groups of individuals I
have ever had the pleasure to work with.
They were there whenever we put out a
request to support you, the association and
the industry in trips to Capitol Hill, calls to
legislators or support for the conferences.
What you also did not see is that they were
there for you in the board meetings looking
out for your best interests. Dennis provided
an open, free-spirit leadership approach
that boosted us through the legislative
efforts and organizational planning. The
kind of friendship I have with Dennis is
one of the reasons I value my membership
in the association.
I’m sure that our new and continuing
board members will reflect the collegial
tradition that’s been set. During the annual
meeting held during the conference, the
following individuals were elected as new
board members: Kurt Liebendorfer, Stellar;
Chris Lyons, Solar Turbines; Ann McIver,
Citizens Energy Group; Stewart Wood,
Veolia Energy North America; Jeff Zumwalt,
University of New Mexico; and Steve
Swinson, Thermal Energy Corp. Joe Brillhart,
Johnson Controls, was re-elected for a
three-year term. This team complements a
very strong and forward-thinking team
that is needed to forward our policy agenda.
I look forward to working with them.
The fundamentals of IDEA membership
remain timeless and tested, ready for another
hundred years. It is this collaboration of
peers and our powerful partnerships with
industry experts that will provide us with
leading-edge equipment and help us integrate technologies that will prepare us for
the challenges ahead. It is more critical now
than ever that we work together to move
our industry forward quickly. As reflected in
our new industry video, “Now’s the Time.”
We need to build agile organi-
zations and take risks now.
This is why my theme for next year is
“Creating an Efficient Energy Future.” I
chose the theme because to meet this
challenge we need to build agile organizations and take risks now to prevent future
difficulties. We have to be both visionary
and aggressive to succeed.
I believe that district energy and CHP
can and should play a pivotal and powerful
role in a suite of solutions as we transition
our nation’s economy from reliance on fossil
fuels to a more sustainable economy. I
fervently believe that efficiency is the low-hanging fruit that our country should harvest first.
We will need your help to educate
our leaders, the regulators and legislators.
We need to spread the word that we have
the effective near- and long-term solutions
to achieve our efficiency and emissions goals.
We need to help people like Rob Thornton,
Mark Spurr and Shelley Fidler raise the
visibility of our systems so we can stop
being out of sight and out of mind with
our government leaders. We need to make
the case that climate rules should HELP
district energy flourish, not stack the deck
against us. We need to make the case that
we can deliver 24/7/365, and that with
proper incentives, we can dramatically
enhance energy efficiency and energy
security and cut the carbon footprints of
our nation’s campuses, cities, bases and
hospitals.
The case for district energy needs to
be made around the world. I encourage
you to attend the International District
Cooling Conference in Dubai this October.
The region also has been affected by the
economic downturn, but now that so many
district cooling systems are in place, a shift
is in the works to focus on improving
operations and efficiency. We all have many
lessons learned that we can share with
them on training, plant efficiency, state-of-the-art equipment, optimization and cost
allocation. I am sure we can learn from
their regional challenges as well.
I know that IDEA’s tremendous
accomplishments over the past 100 years
will be surpassed by the accomplishments
of the next 100 years because of dedicated
leadership and contributions of members
like you who will help guide us along the
right path. I will do my best to learn from
you, to help you celebrate your accomplishments, and to spread the word on
your capabilities and achievements. I welcome your ideas and look forward to
“creating an efficient energy future.”
Juan Ontiveros
Chair, 2009-2010
Executive Director of Utilities and
Energy Management
The University of Texas at Austin
Juan.Ontiveros@austin.utexas.edu
