People In
the News
AKF Group LLC has announced that
Oleksa Breslawec, PE, has joined the
firm’s Arlington, Va.,
office. He brings 25
years of experience
in facility consulting,
energy services, com-
missioning, engineer-
ing and program
management for
higher education, health care, corporate and
government clients. He will work with AKF
executive leadership to develop and expand
the firm’s services for clients in the Mid-
Atlantic region as well as nationally for the
federal government and higher education
market sectors. Breslawec was a co-founder
and vice president of an Engineering News-
Record Top 500 engineering firm and previ-
ously served as managing principal of its
Washington, D.C., regional office. A profes-
sional mechanical engineer registered in 25
states, he is a long-term member of IDEA,
APPA and ASHRAE, as well as a speaker at
numerous industry conferences.
District Energy St. Paul and its affiliate
Ever-Green Energy are moving forward with
a long-planned leadership transition.
Anders Rydaker,
president and chief
executive officer of
District Energy St.
Paul and Ever-Green
Energy, informed the
company’s board of
directors last year of
his readiness to implement the leadership
transition in 2010. At
its spring quarterly
meeting, the board
promoted Kenneth
Smith, senior vice
president and chief
operating officer, to the role of president
and chief executive officer of District Energy
and its affiliate companies effective Aug. 1.
Smith will be the third president in the organization’s 27-year history.
Anders Rydaker
During Rydaker’s 17-year tenure,
District Energy St. Paul has become recognized as one of the most successful district
energy systems in the U.S. District Energy
St. Paul operates North America’s largest
hot water district heating system using
energy from a biomass-fired, combined
heat and power plant, fueled by Twin
Cities’ tree trimmings. Ever-Green Energy
specializes in consulting, operating, managing and developing integrated community
energy systems.
Rydaker will remain with Ever-Green
Energy, cultivating the company’s growing list of business opportunities including
emerging technologies and mentoring the
next generation of energy leaders.
The New York Chapter of the
Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) has
named Hemant R.
Mehta, PE, the
chapter’s Energy
Engineer of the Year.
The honor, one of
AEE’s highest, was
conferred June 15 at
the organization’s
23rd annual awards gala in New York City.
Mehta is president and founder of New
York City-based WM Group Engineers. He
is considered an expert in utility master
planning with vast experience in optimizing
plant performance and improving plant
efficiencies. Mehta has managed more
than 100 central utility projects throughout
his 35-year career, and his recommendations have enabled many facilities to save
millions in capital and operating costs.
Kevin E. Brown has recently
launched Smart Energy Business Solutions.
Smart Energy is an independent energy
consulting practice with expertise in analyz-
ing business opportunities, deal structure,
transaction support, asset management,
strategic planning, energy advisory ser-
vices, energy service agreements, rate case
and litigation support, and expert witness
testimony. The firm serves private equity
clients, utilities, regulatory and government
agencies, higher education and health care
facilities, environmental services, facilities
management and commercial office build-
ings. With more than 25 years of energy
industry experience, Brown has developed,
managed and operated numerous steam,
chilled-water and cogeneration facilities.
His background includes business unit
operation at the senior executive level,
project development, sales, marketing,
customer service, startup and regulatory
affairs. Brown is an alumnus of Lehigh
University, where he received a master’s
degree in public administration; he also
holds a bachelor of arts degree from East
Stroudsburg University.
Birger Lauersen, manager of international affairs for the Danish District Heating
Association (DDHA),
has been appointed
the new president
of European district
heating organization Euroheat &
Power. The job
involves contact
with the European Parliament on behalf
of the district heating organizations of 32
nations. Lauersen has worked for DDHA
since 1994. He has been a member of the
Euroheat & Power board since 1998 and
has chaired its energy policy group since
2002. He was elected vice president of
Euroheat & Power in 2008.
Euroheat & Power’s new vice president is Frédéric Hug, the environment and
innovation director
at GDF SUEZ Energy
Services, where
his responsibilities
include sustainable
development. Hug
joined Elyo, now
COFELY (GDF SUEZ
Energy Services), in 1988 after some years
with Exxon’s French subsidiary. Hug also
chairs the French business organization
MEDEF’s energy efficiency work group and
sits on the board of several French and
European professional organizations.
