Comments on: Heat and Power Combined: Copenhagen’s Other Message http://citiwire.net/post/1545/ Our mission... to reflect a new narrative for 21st century cities and regions. Leaving behind the 20th century pattern of cheap energy, endless automobility, burgeoning suburbs, threatened inner cities. To a challenge-packed 21st century: energy prices headed north, perilous carbon emissions, deepening have-have not divisions, excruciating social problems and deep challenges in education. But a time of exciting promise, too. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:47:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Neal Peirce http://citiwire.net/post/1545/comment-page-1/#comment-1004 Neal Peirce Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:55:15 +0000 http://citiwire.net/?p=1545#comment-1004 Comment received from the marketing director of Rabtherm in Seattle, Washington: Our company has developed a system, which recovers heat from waste water. A Heat Heatexchanger is implemented into the waste water line and a circulating media (water) is circulated to a heat pump in the building for heating and domestic hot water. The system is in operation in Germany and Switzerland. The German EPA ( Bundesumweltamt) has adopted this system for their new office building in Berlin. We are now contacting cities and potential users for this environmental friendly energy. Roland Schober Rabtherm Marketing Director (425) 582-7863 Comment received from the marketing director of Rabtherm in Seattle, Washington:
Our company has developed a system, which recovers heat from waste water. A Heat Heatexchanger is implemented into the waste water line and a circulating media (water) is circulated to a heat pump in the building for heating and domestic hot water.
The system is in operation in Germany and Switzerland. The German EPA ( Bundesumweltamt) has adopted this system for their new office building in Berlin. We are now contacting cities and potential users for this environmental friendly energy.
Roland Schober
Rabtherm
Marketing Director
(425) 582-7863

]]> By: Neal Peirce http://citiwire.net/post/1545/comment-page-1/#comment-1000 Neal Peirce Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:08:14 +0000 http://citiwire.net/?p=1545#comment-1000 Readers - check out interesting details and approaches in this message received from John Sorenson of Portland, Ore.: Thank you so much for the op-ed in the Oregonian this morning. Very to the point, makes sense, I appreciate the nod to this being an American innovation, especially for those that think we are simply taking a backseat to socialist countries' technologies. I appreciate your grassroots approach to these issues. I proposed the N.Pearl project after consulting with Anders Rydaker of District Energy St. Paul in June of '07. The Oregonian added a box to your op-ed with a mention of our nonprofit, N2e. http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/12/copenhagens_other_message_heat.html Since our proposal, there was a land grab of sorts relative to the project, which I have found to be extremely counterproductive and also counter-innovative. I have come to the conclusion that rather than this project being developed by a municipal entity or private entity, a more sustainable business approach would be as a non-profit community-owned utility, similar in nature to DE St. Paul, which is a nonprofit. Not beholden to stockholder pressure or political pressure. The latter, we can find examples of the lack of infrastructure maintenance of interstate bridges due to political pressures rather than the pressures of physics. As a result, we have formed a nonprofit, N2e, Natural Neighborhood Energy to advance and develop neighborhood scaled systems. I serve on several EcoDistrict committees within the City, my main function is input on energy-related relocalization schemes. I was named a "2009 Newsmaker of the Year" by the Portland Daily Journal of Commerce for my work in the built environment. Portland is known as a leader in sustainability, it should always be noted that the bar is low. Another project you may find fascinating is our Sunnyside Neighborhood Energy, SunNE, project. Smaller, residential scale thermal utility, more on the Samso (Denmark) scale than Copenhagen or St. Paul. One novelty to this is looking at school boiler rooms as underutilized resources and assets to the greater neighborhood community. This scale is repeated all over the country with incredible uniformity. 1910-1930's residential inner neighborhoods, small, inefficient homes on tight lots, lined by a commercial corridor. At the heart is a neighborhood brick school with a brick boiler room, often with WW 1 vintage oil-fired boilers, often times boilers that were skidded off steam ships. These inefficient boilers sit in space that school districts finance for 12 months but really only use for 6 during the heating season. Our approach, N2e, is to turn that expense into a resource for the school and community by creating district systems centered on these schools. Instead of expense, the school now has a revenue stream, the community receives benefit as well. Here's an excellent article by Linda Baker this past June in Oregon Business Magazine: http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/59-june-2009/1729-heat-wave Your two points about innovation and finance. We do need help regarding the finance component. Any ideas or places you can direct me to, I would really appreciate it. Please keep up the great work you do, all the best. Call or email if you have any questions. Sincerely, John 503-367-7241 www.N2e.org Readers – check out interesting details and approaches in this message received from John Sorenson of Portland, Ore.:

Thank you so much for the op-ed in the Oregonian this morning. Very to the point, makes sense, I appreciate the nod to this being an American innovation, especially for those that think we are simply taking a backseat to socialist countries’ technologies. I appreciate your grassroots approach to these issues. I proposed the N.Pearl project after consulting with Anders Rydaker of District Energy St. Paul in June of ’07. The Oregonian added a box to your op-ed with a mention of our nonprofit, N2e. http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/12/copenhagens_other_message_heat.html

Since our proposal, there was a land grab of sorts relative to the project, which I have found to be extremely counterproductive and also counter-innovative. I have come to the conclusion that rather than this project being developed by a municipal entity or private entity, a more sustainable business approach would be as a non-profit community-owned utility, similar in nature to DE St. Paul, which is a nonprofit. Not beholden to stockholder pressure or political pressure. The latter, we can find examples of the lack of infrastructure maintenance of interstate bridges due to political pressures rather than the pressures of physics.

As a result, we have formed a nonprofit, N2e, Natural Neighborhood Energy to advance and develop neighborhood scaled systems. I serve on several EcoDistrict committees within the City, my main function is input on energy-related relocalization schemes. I was named a “2009 Newsmaker of the Year” by the Portland Daily Journal of Commerce for my work in the built environment. Portland is known as a leader in sustainability, it should always be noted that the bar is low.

Another project you may find fascinating is our Sunnyside Neighborhood Energy, SunNE, project. Smaller, residential scale thermal utility, more on the Samso (Denmark) scale than Copenhagen or St. Paul. One novelty to this is looking at school boiler rooms as underutilized resources and assets to the greater neighborhood community. This scale is repeated all over the country with incredible uniformity. 1910-1930′s residential inner neighborhoods, small, inefficient homes on tight lots, lined by a commercial corridor. At the heart is a neighborhood brick school with a brick boiler room, often with WW 1 vintage oil-fired boilers, often times boilers that were skidded off steam ships. These inefficient boilers sit in space that school districts finance for 12 months but really only use for 6 during the heating season.

Our approach, N2e, is to turn that expense into a resource for the school and community by creating district systems centered on these schools. Instead of expense, the school now has a revenue stream, the community receives benefit as well. Here’s an excellent article by Linda Baker this past June in Oregon Business Magazine: http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/59-june-2009/1729-heat-wave

Your two points about innovation and finance. We do need help regarding the finance component. Any ideas or places you can direct me to, I would really appreciate it.

Please keep up the great work you do, all the best. Call or email if you have any questions.

Sincerely, John

503-367-7241
http://www.N2e.org

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