INDUSTRY NEWS Steam Heat May No Longer Be Used RESEARCH ROUNDUP DENVER-As the City of Den- ver looks to use electric Inside the Denver Steam Plant, natural gas heat for commercial is burned to boil water to serve about 120 buildings and amid rate downtown buildings with steam. increases, the city could stop using its steam heat system-the oldest continuously operated system in the country, according to an article from Colorado Public Radio News. The system is comprised of a 10-mile network of pipes with the primary purpose of heating buildings. The city and engineering firms are now challenged to decide if the natural-gas-powered steam heat system economically helps Denver meet its climate goals. Neighborhood-sized steam heat systems exist in many U.S. cities, including New York and San Francisco. The system in Denver has been in operation since 1880. SAM BRASCH/ CPR NEWS PNNL to Lead Grid Modernization Projects RICHLAND, WASH.-Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will lead three new U.S. Department of Energyfunded projects to make the nation's power grid more resilient, flexible and secure. In addition to the three projects it will lead, PNNL will collaborate with other national laboratories and industry partners on eight more grid modernization projects. NREL Updates Energy Integration Tool GOLDEN, COLO.-The rising costs of weather and climate disas- ters have made resilience a top focus of building owners-one that is reflected in the latest updates to National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL's) REopt™ Lite energy integration and optimization web tool. The latest REopt Lite upgrades address users' growing focus on providing backup power to sustain critical load during outages. Expanded resilience capabilities enable users to optimally size new diesel generation and better understand the benefits and trade-offs of resilience. Standard 15-2019 - Safety Standard for Refrigeration Systems Standard 34-2019 - Designation and Safety Classification of Refrigerants ASHRAE's key standards for refrigerant identification and usage have been revised to meet governmental regulation and achieve improved performance. Standards 15 and 34 provide essential guidance to anyone who needs to stay current with new refrigerants and safety requirements. Standard 34 describes a shorthand way of naming refrigerants and assigns safety classifications based on toxicity and flammability data, while Standard 15 establishes procedures for operating equipment and systems when using those refrigerants. ASHRAE offers the standards as a set. Available Now www.ashrae.org/15and34 8 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org JAN UARY 2020http://www.ashrae.org/15and34 https://www.ashrae.org/