The Portland District Cooling Company is Veolia Energy's first district energy system in the Pacific Northwest. Veolia Energy owns and operates the largest portfolio of heating, cooling and cogeneration networks in North America, with systems across the country in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cambridge, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Trenton and Tulsa. As part of the acquisition, Veolia Energy plans to implement its best practices for preventive maintenance, and will continue to invest in the system to increase efficiency.

"We are delighted to add the Portland District Cooling Company to our growing North American portfolio and we are committed to delivering excellent service to the customers served by this system," said Stewart A. Wood, President and CEO of Veolia Energy North America. "Portland has been formally recognized as the number one green city in the U.S. by Popular Science and SustainLane. Veolia Energy's business activities are designed to reduce carbon footprints, so operating in a sustainable city of Portland's stature is a perfect fit for us. We are also pleased that the plant was designed with future expansion in mind, so we are well positioned to grow with our customer base."

The Portland district cooling system produces and distributes chilled water to the Brewery Blocks, a five-block shopping and professional district in Portland's post-industrial Pearl District neighborhood. The plant, with 4,000 tons of installed chilled water capacity, houses two centrifugal chillers along with a state-of-the art automation system that operates the chillers and controls system devices. Customers who currently utilize chilled water from the system include retail businesses, office buildings, luxury apartments and condos, a large datacenter and a performance art hall.

The district cooling system was initially developed by Portland General Electric (PGE), a local electric utility that constructed the district plant and an underground distribution loop from 1999-2001. The plant is expected to remain in operation for at least another twenty years.

About Veolia Energy North America

A subsidiary of Veolia Environnement, the world's leading environmental services company, Veolia Energy focuses on controlling energy costs and reducing carbon footprints through energy-efficient, custom solutions. Solutions encompass the production and distribution of highly-reliable thermal energy; on-site operation of customers' complex equipment to enhance the technical, economic and environmental performance; combined heat and power generation (cogeneration); and the introduction of renewable fuels into the energy mix where it is viable. Veolia Energy serves customers throughout the Continental USA, with a national reach and capability, and owns and operates the largest portfolio of district energy (heating, cooling and cogeneration) networks in North America. With approximately 335,000 employees globally, Veolia Environnement reported revenue of $50 billion in 2008.

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