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DES Third Anniversary Celebration
February 22, 2007
The Metro Nashville District Energy System third anniversary celebration was held Thursday, February 22, 2007 at the DES facility, adjacent to Gateway Bridge. Mayor Bill Purcell spoke along with Councilman J.B. Loring and DES General Manager Tim Hestle.
During the event, a plaque was unveiled to commemorate the first day of commercial operations at the new District Energy System. An outdoor kiosk was also unveiled that gives the history of Metro DES and explains how it provides heating and cooling services to 40 buildings in downtown Nashville. It was designed in part by the students of the Pre-Engineering class of Martin Luther King, Jr. High School.
General Manager Tim Hestle, Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet High School teacher Jim Woodbury,
Mayor Bill Purcell and Councilman J.B. Loring stand beside the kiosk on Gateway Bridge. (click on image to enlarge)
Project Administrator Harvey Gershman, Mayor Bill Purcell and Finance Director David Manning
stand by a commemorative plaque that was unveiled during the celebration.
(click on image to enlarge)
Fiscal Year 2006 Metro DES Report
August 29, 2006
On August 29, 2006, NDES delivered to Metro Council its Fiscal Year 2006 District Energy System Report. The report answered 13 questions posed annually by the Council regarding operations, performance and finances of the award-winning system. It also provided an overview of capabilities, new customer acquisitions, benefits of DES services over self-heating/cooling, and impact of DES on the City of Nashville.
View report
 Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell congratulated Metro District Energy System advisory board members, DES team members and Constellation Energy Projects & Services employees on winning the System of the Year award from the International District Energy Association. At its recent meeting, the advisory board also recognized Mayor Purcell for receiving IDEA’s Public Sector Leadership Award. (click on image to enlarge) |
Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report
Summer 2006
During the summer of 2006, Constellation Energy Projects and Services Group, the Operator of the Nashville District Energy System, presented the third “Annual Report” to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville. This report summarizes monthly activities related to the performance and operation of plant, the Energy Distribution System (EDS), environmental, health and safety, marketing and sales, fuel procurement and finance over the past twelve months.The fiscal year, July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006, has been successful in many areas which include, but are not limited to, reliability, efficiency, safety and customer service.
John Schaffer Promoted to Vice President of Operations
CEPS Group has named John Schaffer vice president of operations. In his new role, he directs all operations of CEPS, including build-own-operate projects, day-to-day management of energy service and multiple central plants. He is responsible for the preparation and implementation of department budgets and long-term capital improvement projects.
Schaffer has been with DES since 2002, most recently serving as general manager. He was responsible for managing the Thermal Plant and the successful start-up, transition and operations of the new system. He has more than 30 years of experience in the energy services field, including more than six years with CEPS. Prior to joining CEPS, Schaffer served in a similar role at Trigen Energy Corporation.
Mayor Purcell and DES Receive Prestigious Awards
June 2006
 Rob Thornton, President of the IDEA, and Mayor Bill Purcell |
 Cheryl Gomez, 2005-06 chair, IDEA (far left), and Ray DuBose, chair of IDEA's 2006 System-of-the-Year Selection Committee (far right), presented the award to (left to right) John Schaffer, vice president of operations, CEPS; Harvey Gershman, project administrator, Metro Nashville District Energy System, and president, Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc.; David Manning, director of finance, Metro Nashville; and Don Clark, business development manager, CEPS. |
Metro Nashville District Energy System (DES) and Mayor Bill Purcell were recently presented awards by the International District Energy Association (IDEA) during the association's 97th Annual Conference & Trade Show ceremonies in Nashville:
Public Sector Leadership Award
The Public Sector Leadership Award, presented to Mayor Purcell, is given to the public entity or individual who has demonstrated public leadership in the energy field.
(press release)
System-of-the-Year Award
The System-of-the-Year Award is the top honor IDEA can confer on a public or privately owned district energy system. It recognizes exemplary system performance and service that furthers the goals of the district energy industry. DES and Constellation Energy Project & Services Group Inc. (CEPS) were selected the winner by a panel of IDEA member judges that reviewed and scored entries based on each system's energy efficiency; reliability and availability; environmental benefits and compliance strategy; employee safety and training programs; customer relations, service improvements, communications and marketing; and involvement in the community and professional organizations.
(press release)
Nashville Hosts 97th Annual International District Energy Association
Conference & Trade Show
April 2006
DES and Constellation Energy Projects Services Group will host the 97th annual International District Energy Association (IDEA) Conference and Trade Show at the Nashville Convention Center, June 11-14. More than 400 district energy professionals from around the world will come to participate.
All activities will be held in buildings connected to the DES system, providing the perfect opportunity for DES to show off its award-winning service and facility. A party at the Wildhorse Saloon will kick off the conference, which includes an exhibition with more than 60 of the leading companies and organizations involved in design, construction, operation and optimization of district energy systems, as well as numerous
networking receptions, dinners and events.
The conference offers an extensive technical program featuring the following:
- District Energy Infrastructure Development
- District Cooling and Thermal Energy Storage
- Combined Heat and Power
- Renewable, Alternative and Biomass Fuels
- Environmental Compliance and Permitting
- System Optimization: Metering and Controls
- Sustainable District Energy Systems
- System Management, Maintenance and Operations
IDEA will recognize industry leaders and innovators at the Annual Awards Luncheon and Chairman ’s Dinner. Technical tours of the DES facility and Vanderbilt University Campus Energy System are also planned.
New Metering Panels Benefit Customers and Metro DWS
April 2006
In an effort to provide customers with more detailed energy-use data and better service, DES recently installed new meters in most customer buildings. In addition, incorrectly designed metering systems were reconfigured to improve accuracy.
According to General Manager Tim Hestle, the new metering panels offer benefits for DES, too.
“This new program will allow DES to use software technology to accurately model and analyze the performance of our distribution network,” Hestle said. “It will also provide a means for customers to more easily monitor their facility’s energy consumption.”
The new panels record, store and securely send energy data via the Internet to the DES server. The data is then converted to graphs that display monthly energy flow rates, such as steam and chilled water usage or building performance against ambient temperatures. These graphs will be uploaded for each customer to view by logging on to the DES Web site through a secure Web link. Every month, old graphs will be archived to a separate link, and new graphs will be available on the customer link.
Panel display screens can be remotely viewed by using the metering panel IP address. Energy data can also be downloaded to removable memory cards. Customers’ building energy management systems can use real-time data by hooking on to the metering devices via a Modbus connection. In addition, the new panels allow e-mail alarms to be sent directly to customers when peak energy usage is exceeded.
A clearer knowledge of a building’s energy performance will allow customers to identify and eliminate undesirable trends in energy consumption and easily compare monthly energy consumptions to historical data located in the building archives. According to Hestle, data from the new panels will also give customers the ability to forecast their buildings’ energy consumption.
Example graph of monthly chilled water capacity profile.
Energy Costs Increase Fiscal Year 2007 Budget
April 2006
The DES budget for Fiscal Year 2007 increased more than $3 million over Fiscal Year 2006. The 15 percent increase is a result of 21 percent higher energy costs, especially in natural gas.
The FY2007 budget has a 1.1 percent decrease in capital budgeting, which helps mitigate the energy costs.
According to Metro DES contract administrator Harvey Gershman, the budget is very reasonable, considering energy prices worldwide. “The budget reflects a significant balance between cutting costs and continuing to provide excellent service to our customers,” Gershman said. “Aside from energy, we have actually lowered our projected spending for Fiscal Year 2007.”
Gershman pointed out that because DES buys natural gas in bulk at set prices, customers are protected from extreme price fluctuations in the volatile natural gas market.