October 25, 2011
The Portland Development Commission (PDC) has selected a team led by Corix Infrastructure to conduct a feasibility assessment for developing, owning and operating a district energy system. The shared energy system would provide sustainable energy for the residents, business travelers and tourists who use the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Rose Garden Arena and the Oregon Convention Center.
“This project would be a key part of implementing a clean energy strategy in the Lloyd Eco-District, a new partnership between the City, Lloyd District property owners and the Portland Sustainability Institute,” said Lew Bowers, PDC’s Central City team manager. “Corix’s industry-leading experience with these kinds of systems – combined with the local knowledge of McKinstry and the additional expertise of Fosdick & Hilmer – make this a great team to develop a successful neighborhood district energy business and implementation strategy.”
District energy is a system of delivering heating and cooling to surrounding buildings using a highly efficient energy plant which also serves the surrounding district. In addition to increased efficiencies and reduced energy costs, it provides the flexibility to incorporate other green technologies and fuels in the future, ranging from solar to geothermal. Incorporating co-generation, a district energy system can provide combined heat and power systems that deliver heating and cooling as well as electricity in a sustainable, long-term, cost effective manner. The city worked with the Portland Sustainability Institute to create a district energy roadmap for the Central City in 2010.
“This district energy system is a very exciting project and we look forward to exploring its potential in more detail,” said Eric van Roon, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Corix. “We have successfully designed, built and operated a number of the facilities in the past including ones in Toronto, Ontario and North Vancouver, B.C.”
Next steps for this project are for PDC and Corix to finalize a Memorandum of Understanding after which the detailed feasibility study will begin.
About Corix
The Corix Group of Companies – based in Vancouver, BC – specializes in providing field metering services, products and utility solutions for sustainable infrastructure in the energy, water and wastewater sectors for clients across North America. It has more than 2000 employees in 60 locations across North America. Corix is a private company whose primary owners are BC Investment Management Corporation and CAI Capital Management Inc., two large and stable members of the Canadian investment community. Please visit www.corix.com for more information.
About McKinstry
McKinstry is a full-service, design-build-operate-and-maintain (DBOM) firm specializing in consulting, construction, energy and facility services. Our innovative, integrated delivery methodology provides clients with a single point of accountability that drives waste, cost, time, and redundancy out of the design/build process. McKinstry has been doing business in Portland for 40 of its 50 years as a company, and is currently providing jobs for more than 300 professional and field staff from our LEED Gold Portland Office. As a company, McKinstry employs 1600 throughout the country with operations in more than 15 states. McKinstry advocates collaborative and sustainable solutions designed to ensure occupant comfort, improve systems efficiency, reduce facility operational costs, and ultimately optimize profitability for “The Life of Your Building.”
About Fosdick & Hilmer
Fosdick & Hilmer (F&H) is a consulting engineering firm – founded in 1905 – whose experienced professional engineers, designers, and project managers combine innovation with proven technologies in order to create superior value in systems engineered to promote health, safety, comfort, productivity, and profitability for our clients. From our offices in Cincinnati, Ohio and Norman, Oklahoma, we serve clients throughout North America in businesses that include: healthcare, education, research, energy production and conversion, heavy industry, manufacturing, data processing, commercial real estate, and retail.
Portland Development Commission
Created by Portland voters in 1958, PDC plays a major role in making Portland one of America’s most livable cities. As Portland’s urban renewal and economic development agency, PDC is pursuing an aggressive strategy to create the most sustainable economy in the world, by connecting people and resources to achieve the city’s vision of social equity, healthy neighborhoods, a vibrant central city, a strong regional economy, and quality jobs and housing for all.
