District Energy St. Paul, a privately owned, nonprofit utility company, has provided reliable, efficient and economical energy to downtown Saint Paul since 1983.

Located on Kellogg Boulevard near the Science Museum of Minnesota, District Energy provides heating and cooling to more than 180 buildings, including City Hall, Ecolab, Wells Fargo, Regions Hospital and the State Capitol complex.

District Energy produces hot and chilled water at its central plant, then distributes the water through underground pipes to its customers. It also produces electricity, which it sells to Xcel Energy, but is twice as efficient as an electricity only plant.

Once the hot and chilled water District Energy produces is used in its customers' buildings, it is returned to the central plant where the water is reheated, rechilled and recirculated to perform the job all over again.

In 2003, District Energy replaced 80 percent of its coal use with a renewable fuel: urban wood waste. These tree trimmings and storm debris are considered to be biomass which does not contribute to global warming.

"District Energy's reliance on biomass fuel sources has helped Saint Paul reduce carbon dioxide emissions some 280,000 tons per year," said Anders Rydaker, president of District Energy St. Paul.