Industry
News
Citizens to Convert Plant
to Natural Gas
Citizens Energy Group announced it will
make natural gas the primary fuel powering
its Perry K Steam Plant located in downtown
Indianapolis, Ind. Modifying the plant’s boilers to burn U.S.-produced natural gas rather
than coal will improve the environment,
reduce environmental compliance costs and
lower operating costs to make the utility’s
steam rates more competitive. The Perry
K plant generates steam for heating and
industrial purposes for approximately 250
customers, including Lucas Oil Stadium and
the campuses of Indiana University Purdue
University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and IU Health.
Citizens invested around $12 million
at Perry K in 2006 to comply with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s Boiler
MACT I air emissions standards. Faced with
implementing the EPA’s Boiler MACT II air
emissions standards by 2014, Citizens has
determined that it can lower future capital
costs by approximately $15 million by modifying the Perry K boilers to burn natural gas
rather than coal. The conversion will also
reduce annual operating costs about $5 million compared to operating modified coal
boilers that would meet the new clean air
standards.
Citizens will make filings with the
Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission related to the conversion plan in January 2012.
The plant conversion work could begin in
late 2012 and would conclude in 2014.
Owners to Sell Enwave
Energy Corp.
The shareholders of Enwave Energy
Corp., the city of Toronto and Ontario
Municipal Employees Retirement System
(OMERS) have directed the board of directors of Enwave to solicit proposals for
a sale of 100 percent of the shares of
Enwave through a competitive auction
process. Enwave’s board of directors will
create a special committee of the board
and retain a financial advisor to assist in its
oversight of the process.
On Nov. 29, the Toronto City Council
authorized the city of Toronto to sell its
interest in the company. In connection
with the proposed sale of their interests in
Enwave, the city of Toronto and OMERS
have waived their right of first refusal to
purchase Enwave shares from a selling
shareholder pursuant to the sharehold-
ers’ agreement between Enwave, OMERS
and the city. The change was made to
promote an open auction process that
maximizes the potential return to the two
shareholders.
Tested in Sweden: Moisture
Alarms in Cooling Pipes
Swedish energy technology company
Mittel Fjärrvärme AB, in conjunction with
the Swedish District Heating Association,
Umeå Energi AB and Pipeguard, has carried out a study to find a solution to
the difficulties with installing functional,
effective moisture alarm systems in district
cooling piping. District cooling systems
are often built without moisture alarms
because the moisture can accumulate in
the insulation and impair the copper alarm
wires. Without a functional moisture
alarm system, the ability to detect and
locate leaks is compromised.
Test results show that it is possible to
install the same cost-effective and proven
moisture alarm technology in district cool-
ing piping that is standard on insulated
district heating piping, by dehumidifying
the air in the joint muffs before insulating
them. In this study, the district cooling
pipe case joints were dried and dehumidi-
fied before foaming and subsequently
jointed with welding sleeves using Mittel’s
patented TSC method, which makes the
joints as strong and durable as the pipes.
District cooling pipe case joints
Aquatherm Named One of
America’s Most Promising
Companies
In December, Forbes magazine named
Aquatherm Inc. to its list of America’s Most
Promising Companies, a roster of 100 privately held up-and-coming U.S. companies
with compelling business models, strong
management teams, notable customers,
strategic partners and investment capital.
Making this distinction more impressive
is that while Forbes used financial data
from 2008 to 2010, the polypropylene
pipe company’s annual revenue more than
doubled during the 2011 fiscal year.
Ranked 76th overall, Aquatherm
Inc., the North American partner of
Aquatherm GmbH, markets and supports
the German-manufactured polypropylene-random pipe systems, which are rapidly
being integrated into a variety of plumbing, HVAC and industrial pipe applications
in North America. To view the complete
Forbes list, visit www.forbes.com/ampc.
Scottish Government Offers
District Heating Loans
The Scottish government announced
Nov. 6 that it was offering more than
£ 1. 9 million ($2.98 million) in loans to
help fund the development of nine small
community biomass district heating sys-
© 2012 International District Energy Association. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
