Saint Paul considers another step toward energy independence

Twenty years after bringing the environmental and economic benefits of district heating and cooling to downtown Saint Paul, city officials want to connect University Avenue businesses to a new, green energy district.

Operating on renewable biofuels, excess energy from the Rock-Tenn Paper recycling plant in the Midway could deliver energy for heating via underground pipes to more businesses along the Central Corridor, under one proposal under consideration. The new energy district could be operating by the time the Central Corridor Light Rail begins service in 2014.

University Avenue business owners who choose to connect to the proposed system would no longer have to cope with seasonal increases in fuel oil or natural gas costs since furnaces would not be needed. This would halt their release of pollutants and carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

Businesses connected to the downtown Saint Paul district energy system have experienced stable energy costs and considerable energy savings overall. About 80 percent of the system is fueled by waste wood from trees cleared from local parks or damaged by storms.

Working with a 15-member citizens’ advisory panel, engineers at Market Street Energy, and others, the Saint Paul Port Authority is exploring the possibility of creating a Central Corridor energy district. The Port recommended — and the City Council accepted in 2008 — a proposal to re-power Rock-Tenn with discount-priced natural gas, utilizing carbon offsets from renewable biogas. The biogas would be produced at an anaerobic digestion facility to be built in out state Minnesota. The anaerobic digestion facility required would be the largest of its kind in the United States. Discussions continue to move this proposal to reality.

“With a district energy system powered by green, renewable fuels for the Central Corridor, Saint Paul can do its part to slow climate change, and further improve air quality in the neighborhood,” said Mayor Chris Coleman.