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tems across the country. The projects
will heat around 280 homes as well as
businesses, schools, swimming pools and
community centers, while reducing car-
bon dioxide emissions by around 68,000
tonnes over 25 years. The loans were part
of a pilot program open to local authori-
ties, housing associations, small- to medi-
um-sized enterprises, and energy service
companies. Loans were available up to
£400,000 to fund the capital costs of the
projects and will be paid back over
St. Paul Solar Project Wins
Innovation Award
District Energy St. Paul announced in
October that its solar thermal district energy project was awarded one of five innovation awards from the Interstate Renewable
Energy Council (IREC), in the category
of community renewables. IREC’s 2011
Innovation Awards also honored additional
initiatives in the categories of clean energy
workforce development, state and local
government, and K- 12 projects.
District Energy owns and operates
a 23,000-sq-ft solar hot water system,
which is connected to the largest biomass-fueled hot water district energy system in
the country. The project is also the first
solar project in the United States to be
integrated into a district energy system.
The solar energy produced is used on-site
at the Saint Paul RiverCentre for domestic
hot water and space heating, with excess
energy exported to serve other buildings
within the district heating network.
District Energy developed this project
through a grant from the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Solar America Communities
program and partnerships with the city of
Saint Paul and Minnesota Department of
Commerce, Division of Energy Resources.
Burns & McDonnell, Jacobs
Honored
The American Council of Engineering
Companies (ACEC) of Texas has named IDEA
members Burns & McDonnell and Jacobs
the gold and silver medal winners, respectively, of its 2012 Engineering Excellence
Awards in the energy category. Burns &
McDonnell earned gold for its Master Plan
Implementation Phase One project completed for IDEA member Thermal Energy Corp.
in Houston. Jacobs was recognized for its
32. 5 MW combined heat and power plant
project at the University of Texas at Austin,
also an IDEA member. The winning firms
were selected by a panel of judges from
around Texas based on project uniqueness,
originality, technical considerations, value to
the engineering profession, complexity and
success in meeting clients’ needs.
Seattle City Council Considers
More District Energy
Last fall, the Seattle City Council adopted Resolution 31329 supporting the efforts
of the city’s Office of Sustainability and the
Environment (OSE) to prepare a framework
for a district energy system in Seattle’s new
Yesler Terrace development in the First Hill
area. The resolution calls for the OSE to work
with other city departments, non-city agencies and entities with technical, financial,
legal or other expertise to review a number
of key issues and potential approaches and
report back to the council, which will decide
whether and how to proceed with developing one or more district energy systems.
Among the approaches OSE will consider are developing “a strategic district
energy partnership” with private district
heating companies, creating a smaller
standalone system for Yesler Terrace that
could be expanded in the future and
establishing a municipal heating district.
Currently, Seattle’s central business
district is served by Seattle Steam Co.,
which supplies heat and hot water to
around 200 buildings. The University of
Washington also operates a district energy
system serving campus buildings.
SourceOne Selected for Con
Ed Energy Efficiency Program
CHA Acquires Gryphon
International Engineering
New Jersey, Texas Simplify
Air Permitting Process
U.S. engineering firm CHA Consulting
has acquired Gryphon International Engineering Inc., a power and energy engineering
company headquartered in St. Catharines,
Ont., for an undisclosed sum. Under the
purchase agreement, Gryphon will become
a wholly owned subsidiary of CHA, and its
name will change to Gryphon International
Engineering Services Inc., a CHA Company.
Gryphon will retain its brand and logo. The
acquisition brings CHA’s total number of
offices to 30. The two companies have a
history of working together, including on
projects at the University of Massachusetts,
Albany Medical Center, Cornell University
and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
