Ken Smith is senior advisor to the board at Ever-Green Energy and president and CEO of its parent company, District Energy St. Paul. Recognized globally for his leadership in community and campus scale energy systems, Ken is actively engaged in industry, policy, and academic forums addressing the transformation of our energy system and is a frequent speaker nationally and internationally.

Prior to joining Ever-Green Energy in 2006, Ken worked globally in the engineering and construction industry for over 20 years, planning, designing and implementing highly reliable energy projects, including central plants, microgrids, datacenters, and other mission critical facilities for advanced tech industry, campuses, international airports, and U.S. Department of Defense.

Ken has served as board chair for the International District Energy Association (IDEA), the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS), and the electric vehicle startup company, Zeus Electric Chassis. He also served on the board of directors for the St. Paul Downtown Alliance and the Corporate Council for Metropolitan State University. He currently serves on the board of trustees of the Science Museum of Minnesota as vice chair, and has been a fellow of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment since 2016. Since 2012, Ken has participated in the energy policy exchange between Germany and the State of Minnesota and is cofounder of the highly successful Climate Smart Municipalities exchange with Germany. In 2022, Ken was awarded the Norman R. Taylor Award by IDEA for his leadership and lifelong commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable energy solutions.

He has bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Dakota State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN, and is a registered professional engineer in multiple states.