District Energy St Paul Inc

TO DEVELOP, CONSTRUCT, & OPERATE A DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEM FOR ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA THAT BENEFITS ITS CUSTOMERS, COMMUNITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

DISTRICT ENERGY SERVICES:DISTRICT ENERGY ST. PAUL IS A NON-PROFIT UTILITY PROVIDING ENERGY SERVICES TO DOWNTOWN SAINT PAUL, MN. THE CORE HEATING NETWORK SERVES 197 BUILDINGS IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT AND ACROSS THE RIVER TO A SECONDARY AREA OF COMMERCIAL, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL, AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT. THE COOLING NETWORK SERVES 118 BUILDINGS IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. THE CUSTOMER BASE INCLUDES HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES, RESIDENTIAL APARTMENTS, CONDOS, AND TOWNHOMES, AS WELL AS HOTELS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND SPORTS VENUES. DISTRICT ENERGY ST. PAUL IS THE LARGEST HOT-WATER DISTRICT ENERGY SYSTEM IN NORTH AMERICA AND IS RECOGNIZED GLOBALLY AS A LEADER IN INTEGRATED AND DYNAMIC ENERGY SERVICES. TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY, RELIABILITY, AND IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE OF THE SYSTEM, THE UTILITY HAS INCORPORATED DISTRICT COOLING, THERMAL STORAGE, SOLAR THERMAL, AND BIOMASS-FIRED COMBINED HEAT AND POWER.THE UTILITY RECOGNIZED A SUSTAINABILITY MILESTONE THIS YEAR. BETWEEN 2000 AND 2019, DISTRICT ENERGY REDUCED CARBON EMISSIONS BY 70%. THIS ACHIEVEMENT HAS TAKEN A SYSTEMS APPROACH CONSIDERING HEATING AND COOLING PRODUCTION ASSETS, DATA COLLECTION, DISPATCH PROCEDURES, AND CUSTOMER BUILDING PERFORMANCE. DISTRICT ENERGY IS WORKING TO CONTINUE TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS AND PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS THAT THEY SEEK.DURING 2019, EFFICIENCY CONTINUED TO BE A MAJOR FOCUS BY WORKING ALONGSIDE CUSTOMERS, THE TEAM CONTINUED TO ADVANCE SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN CUSTOMER BUILDINGS. THIS YEAR OUR CUSTOMER ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM SUPPORTED PROJECTS BY TROUBLESHOOTING CUSTOMER-SIDE SYSTEM INEFFICIENCIES AND CHALLENGES WITH RETURN TEMPERATURES FOR HEATING AND COOLING. OUR EFFORTS TO OPTIMIZE THE SYSTEM HAVE BEEN BOLSTERED BY THE ADJUSTMENTS CUSTOMERS ARE IMPLEMENTING IN THEIR BUILDINGS. WHEN CUSTOMERS WORK TO MANAGE PEAKS AND IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IT MAKES A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ENTIRE SYSTEM. THESE EFFORTS ARE MADE EASIER BY MORE DETAILED CUSTOMER USAGE METER DATA COLLECTION THAT HAS HELPED CUSTOMERS AND OUR TEAM MORE CLOSELY MONITOR BUILDING ENERGY TRENDS.ON THE PRODUCTION SIDE, DISTRICT ENERGY ADDED A NEW TRANE CHILLER WITH CHILLING CAPACITY OF 2650-TONS OF REFRIGERATION THAT IS HIGHLY EFFICIENT BECAUSE OF VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES ON THE CHILLER COMPRESSORS WHICH OPERATES AT HIGH EFFICIENCY LEVELS AT ANY LOAD. THE CHILLER ALSO HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF USING A NEXT GENERATION REFRIGERANT, R1233ZD. NEXT GENERATION REFRIGERANTS HAVE EXTREMELY LOW GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL WHICH MINIMIZES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. PAIRING THIS CHILLER WITH RECENT COOLING SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION PROJECTS AND THERMAL STORAGE CAN HELP TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY THROUGHOUT THE COOLING SERVICES.THE SYSTEM CONTINUED TO REINFORCE CUSTOMER STABILITY BY RESIGNING OVER TWO MILLION SQUARE FEET TO NEW OR EXTENDED CONTRACTS.DISTRICT ENERGY CONTINUED ITS LONG TRADITION OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION THROUGH WORKING DIRECTLY WITH CUSTOMERS AS WELL AS HOSTING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES AND TOURS. IN 2019, THE UTILITY PARTNERED WITH THE ST. PAUL SAINTS TO HOST THE BIG IDEAS FOR A SUSTAINABLE MINNESOTA VIDEO CONTEST. HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE STATE SUBMITTED VIDEOS ENCOURAGING WASTE REDUCTION, POLLINATOR PROTECTION, COMMUNITY GARDENS AND LOCAL FOOD SOURCES, TRANSIT AND BIKING ALTERNATIVES, NEW URBANISM, AND RENEWABLE ENERGY. WITH THEIR VIDEO ON INVASIVE SPECIES AWARENESS, KELLIHER PUBLIC SCHOOL WAS AWARDED THE FIRST PLACE PRIZE OF $5,000 FOR SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMMING AT THEIR SCHOOL. HIGHLAND PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL WON SECOND PLACE AND WHITE BEAR LAKE WON THIRD.

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT SERVICES:EVER-GREEN ENERGY ST. PAUL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONS IN SAINT PAUL, MN, INCLUDING DISTRICT ENERGY ST. PAUL (DESP), ST. PAUL COGENERATION (SPC), AND ENVIRONMENTAL WOOD SUPPLY (EWS). THESE THREE ENTITIES WORK TOGETHER TO HELP USE LOCAL TREE WASTE (BIOMASS) TO GENERATE HEAT AND ELECTRICITY FOR A LOW-CARBON ENERGY SOLUTION FOR LOCAL CUSTOMERS. THE TEAM WORKS WITH CITIES, COUNTIES, PRIVATE LAND OWNERS, AND BUSINESSES WHO NEED HELP DEALING WITH STORM-DAMAGED, DISEASED, INFESTED OTHER COMPROMISED TREES. SINCE 2008 THE COMPANY HAS HELPED TO CURB THE SPREAD OF EMERALD ASH BORER BY WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES AND WOOD HAULERS THAT FOLLOW GUIDELINES FOR SPECIES CONTAINMENT, PROVIDING AN EFFICIENT PROCESS FOR MANAGING THESE WOOD WASTE STREAMS, WITH THE ADDITIONAL BENEFIT OF CONVERTING IT TO A RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE.OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, TREE WASTE FROM OVER 115 COMMUNITIES HAS BEEN USED TO FUEL THE COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT. LAST YEAR, ALMOST 50% OF THAT TREE WASTE WAS FROM EMERALD ASH BORER INFESTED TREES THAT HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM PUBLIC OR PRIVATE LANDS.