Many large electric and gas utilities own district energy systems and do not consider them part of their core business; they may decide to divest these systems. In many cases, owners of these systems have not aggressively marketed these services or tried to extend penetration to nearby areas.

The heating and cooling infrastructure is aging in many urban areas, as systems were installed 25 to 40 years ago. These systems are often inefficient and unreliable, and costs to replace them are often materially higher than the cost to connect to a community district energy system.

Many owners of on-site heating and cooling equipment, such as steam boilers or water chillers, are either public companies, real estate investment trusts or non-profit organizations, all of which are interested in reducing operating, maintenance and capital costs and keeping assets off their balance sheets.

Many corporations and industries have made strategic decisions to narrow their focus to their core business, and then outsourcing other functions, such as heating and cooling services, to industry professionals.

Management
Thermal Ventures is led by a management team with deep experience in district heating and cooling and industrial processes including steel making and refining.

Carl E. Avers, Chairman and CEO:   Mr. Avers, a mechanical engineer,  co-founded Thermal Ventures, Inc.^TM in 1989 with Lewis Mahoney and has been in the district energy business for more than 30 years. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University. After graduating, Mr. Avers worked at San Diego Gas & Electric for 10 years before operating as General Manager of the Nashville District Heating and Cooling System. He then consulted for Ellers, Fanning, Oakley, Chester & Pike, an engineering firm in Memphis, and served as director of its advanced energy systems division. From 1980 to 1989, Avers was chairman and/or president of Catalyst Thermal Energy Corp., a New York-based company that acquired and grew district steam and cooling systems. During Mr. Avers nine-year tenure, Catalyst's revenues grew from under $3 million to $125 million. In 1989 Mr. Avers co-founded Thermal Ventures, Inc. with Lewis Mahoney, and currently serves as its Chairman/CEO. Avers served has two terms as a board member and one term as president of the International District Energy Association (IDEA). Mr. Avers received IDEA's highest honor, the Norman Taylor Award, in 1986. He has published numerous articles and presented many technical papers on energy and environmental issues.

James A. Mullen, Jr. P.E., Vice Chairman: Mr. Mullen is Vice Chairman of Thermal Ventures, Inc., and president of Youngstown Fuels and Technology, Inc., a combustion technology and fuels consulting company of Thermal Ventures, Inc.™ After receiving a B.E. degree in electrical engineering from Youngstown State University, Mr. Mullen began his career with Pennsylvania Engineering Corp. and held various positions in engineering and management.  He directed the PECOR, Lectromelt and Central-Engineering divisions, which designed, manufactured and installed BOF, AOD, EAF and LMF steel making processes.  Mr. Mullen was chief engineer of Alliance Machine Co., which designed and manufactured electric overhead cranes and coke oven machinery for the steel industry.  He was President of Metacon Systems Co., which pioneered automatic start and thin slab casting slidegate systems for continuous casters for the steel industry.  Mr. Mullen is also a senior consultant for NASA and Cape Canaveral on critical flight hardware and solid fuel handling systems for the Shuttle Booster Rockets. Mr. Mullen is a registered professional engineer, and a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Association of Energy Engineers, and the International District Energy Association.