News About IDEA Members

Veolia Energy and TNAI Holdings LLC announced June 12 an agreement under which Veolia Energy North America will acquire from TNAI Holdings all of the capital stock of Thermal North America Inc. (TNAI), the holding company for The Trigen Companies. Veolia Energy, which includes affiliate company Dalkia, is the energy services division of Veolia Environnement.

With an enterprise value of $788 million, the acquisition of TNAI represents Veolia Energy’s largest acquisition in North America to date.

Through its Trigen subsidiaries, TNAI is the owner and operator of the largest portfolio of district energy systems in the Unted States, serving more than 1,100 customers with a mix of energy products – electricity, steam, hot water and chilled water. TNAI operates in 11 major U.S. cities: Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Oklahoma City; Philadelphia; St. Louis; Trenton, N.J.; and Tulsa, Okla.

Lance Ahearn, chief executive officer of The Trigen Companies, said, “With decades of district energy operating experience in Europe, Veolia will offer its unrivaled expertise and innovative best practices to the marketplace and will become the major player in the United States once the acquisition is consummated…Our customers will continue to be served locally by experienced staff at the central plants, but they will gain the financial support and expertise of a large, global company that is focused on providing energy services.”

Veolia Energy is already present in North America through Dalkia, which acquired the steam distribution network in Cambridge, Mass., in 2005. In 2006 Dalkia signed a partnership agreement with Gaz Metro to develop district heating networks in Canada. Under the agreement, Dalkia owns and operates Montreal’s district heating network, one of the biggest in North America. Through Dalkia, Veolia Energy is the leading European provider of energy services to local authorities and businesses.

Veolia Environnement has operations in water, waste, energy and transportation management, with more than 270,000 employees in 64 countries. The company’s recorded revenues in 2006 were $37.7 billion. Veolia Environnement’s North American operations have 30,000 employees and produced sales of $3.5 billion in 2006.

New Waste-Fueled CHP Plant in Sweden

Fortum Corp. plans to invest in a new waste-fueled combined heat and power plant in Sweden. The new plant is expected to be operational by early 2011. Fortum Värme, owned by Fortum and the City of Stockholm, will apply for permission to build and operate the new plant in Brista, outside Stockholm, in conjunction with its existing bio-fueled power plant in the same city.

Fortum’s investment in the project will be approximately 110 million euros ($149 million). The new plant will be able to process 240,000 tons of waste annually. The plant will have the capacity to produce approximately 57 MW of heat and 20 MW of electricity – equivalent to the demand of a medium-sized Swedish town.

Fortum Värme’s district heating network meets approximately 75 percent of the heat demand in Stockholm. Some 75 percent of that energy is produced using renewable sources.

IEA Holds CHP/District Energy Workshop

The International Energy Agency (IEA) sponsored a workshop March 2 in Paris on combined heat and power as part of its goal to promote more efficient use of energy. The invitation-only event was expected to bring together 50 experts from the CHP and district energy industries, governments and other organizations to provide input for the IEA’s new initiative to raise the profile of CHP and district energy as clean energy solutions. During the workshop’s three sessions, participants learned about IEA’s mandate and the status of CHP/district energy advancement, provided their feedback and perspectives, then discussed and approved a detailed work plan and budget for IEA’s initiative.

New FlowCom™ Register

McCrometer has released the new digital FlowCom Register Model FC100 with an advanced low-power microprocessor design. The FC100 provides simultaneous flow rate and volumetric totalized flow data for the company’s Mc®Propeller series flow meter in a wide range of water-monitoring applications. Designed to replace electro-mechanical counters, this product features an easy-to-read two-line display and can be specified for either local direct meter reading or for remote operation monitoring. When configured for remote monitoring, the FC100 is suitable for service in confined spaces where hazardous combustible or toxic gases may be present as well as in large SCADA systems distributed over a wide geographic area. The FC100 digital display retrofits with any Mc Propeller flow meter. For more information, visit www.mccrometer.com.

Tyco Service Center Opens in China

Tyco Flow Control, a division of Tyco International Ltd., celebrated the March 12 opening of its first service center in China. Located at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Jin Shan, the center reflects the company’s commitment to provide customers with local service and maintenance. The center offers services ranging from maintenance and spare parts replacements to testing and emergency breakdown on call. Tyco Flow Control, which produces valve and control products, and Tyco Thermal Controls, a provider of heat-tracing products, will both operate out of the new service center.

Slovenia to Increase Renewable Energy

Slovenia will increase its share of renewable energy sources by 2020 in line with the European Union’s Directive for Renewable Energy Sources, according to Slovenia Business Week. That commitment was announced March 19 by Hinko Suhinc of Slovenia’s Environment Ministry at a district energy conference in Portoroz. Suhinc noted the country’s current share of renewables is at 11 percent, above the EU average of 6 percent. The EU-wide target is 20 percent by 2020. Given that Slovenia’s share is already higher than average, Suhinc expects that the country will raise its share to 25 percent.

The head of the Slovenian District Heating Association, Alojz Poredos, said that the EU directive provided an opportunity to study the future of energy in Europe. He said that energy will be one of the main topics of Slovenia’s EU presidency in the first half of 2008.

Danfoss Symposium Spurs Discussion

Some 40 experts from the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration industry, as well as from the U.S. Senate and federal agencies, discussed the global energy situation April 17 at the Danfoss EnVisioneeringSM Symposium. The symposium theme was “Energy Efficient Investment and the Emerging Global Cost Paradigm.”

Held at the Hotel Washington in Washington, D.C., the event touched on a variety of complex energy issues, from global warming and the future of power prices, to the cost of raw materials and labor, to selling energy efficiency in the developing world, most notably China. Among the highlights of the symposium:

The symposium was the fourth in a series of conferences that make up the Danfoss EnVisioneering Symposium series. More information is available at www.envisioneering.danfoss.com/symposium.

Dalkia Wins First Contract in China

Dalkia, through its Chinese subsidiary Dalkia Urban Heating, a joint venture with the City of Jiamusi, has won its first contract to operate and develop the district heating network in China. The network serves Jiamusi, located near China’s northeastern border with Russia. The 25-year contract is expected to generate aggregate revenue of 650 million euros ($870 million).

The system currently serves 250,000 residents, as well as businesses and municipal buildings, for a total of 5.5 million sq m (59 million sq ft). This is slated to increase to nearly 15 sq m (161 million sq ft) of building space by 2020. As part of the contract, more than 600 employees will join Dalkia’s teams.

Jiamusi, population 2.5 million, is the third-largest city in Heilongjiang province. Its particularly harsh climate, with temperatures averaging minus 18 degrees C (minus 0.4 F) between December and January, offers a very favorable environment for district heating system development.

China is the world’s second largest market for district heating networks, behind Russia. Its heat production is equivalent to that of the 27 member European Union states and 5.5 times that of the United States. Air pollution is a major challenge in Chinese cities. The government has set ambitious targets to reduce pollution before 2010, notably by cutting sulfur dioxide emissions in half. Because of their environmentally friendly features, heating networks are seen as an effective path for achieving these targets. For this reason, upgrading district heating systems is one of the government’s top priorities.

Dalkia is a subsidiary of Veolia Environnement and Electricite de France.

Wärtsilä Wins Belgian Contract

Wärtsilä Corp. has been awarded a contract by Belgian independent power producer Renogen S.A. to supply a second biomass-fueled combined heat and power plant to the municipality of Amel in the Ardennes, the first ‘sustainable industrial area’ in the southern part of Belgium. The new plant will have a net electrical output of 3.29 MWe and a thermal output of 10 MWth for district heating.

In July 2008, Wärtsilä will deliver a new BioPower 5CEX plant, which will burn wood waste supplied by the local forestry industry. The company also has an operations and maintenance contract once the plant is commissioned. The plant is a duplicate of one installed by the company in Amel. Both facilities will supply hot water to local industrial businesses; the generated electricity will be fed to the local grid. The two plants will be eligible for carbon emission credits (‘green certificates’) applicable in Belgian Wallonia.

Glitnir Bank Considers U.S. Geothermal Investments

Icelandic bank Glitnir met with geologists, government officials and investors at the West Coast Finance and Development Workshop held in San Francisco in May. The meeting was hosted by the Geothermal Energy Association, a U.S. trade group that advocates the global development of geothermal energy, and was partly sponsored by Glitnir.

“The U.S. market is extremely attractive for us,” said Executive Vice President of Glitnir Magnus Bjarnason. “The number of megawatts earmarked for delivery from geothermal energy is on the increase, 50 percent higher than just six months ago.”

Glitnir has extensive experience in the geothermal energy industry. In 2005 it financed the world’s largest geothermal district heating utility in China and has formed a team of specialist bankers who focus on the sustainable energy sector. The investment bank is keen to tap into the U.S. market, estimated to be worth between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion a year.

Sustainable Ontario Development Breaks Ground

The Remington Group Inc. broke ground in May on Downtown Markham, North America’s largest LEED®-registered (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) mixed-use development. Located in Markham, Ont., the 243-acre community combines residential, retail and commercial properties constructed according to green building standards. Reflecting its commitment to environmentally friendly technologies, The Remington Group has also entered into an agreement with Markham District Energy, owned by the Town of Markham, to heat and cool the development.

Downtown Markham will become home to 9,500 residents living in approximately 4,000 new condominiums and townhouses. More than 16,000 people will work in approximately 4.2 million sq ft of office space in the development. Its pedestrian-friendly core will also include retail amenities, numerous parks, streams and green spaces within easy walking distance.

Honeywell of Canada has signed on as the first commercial tenant in a LEED-certified building in Downtown Markham.

Tabreed Inks Deals With ALDAR

Tabreed has signed two agreements with ALDAR Properties, a leading Abu Dhabi real estate developer, to provide cooling services totaling 1 million tons of cooling to two projects. The agreements will be implemented in several phases through A&T Cool, Tabreed’s joint venture with ALDAR Properties and will cover ALDAR’s Yas Island project and the Al Raha Beach development.

The YAS Island project will be supplied a total of 600,000 TR from 15 cooling plants, with the first phase beginning in January 2009. The Al Raha Beach development will get 400,000 tons from eight plants beginning in December 2008.

Tabreed Signs $100 Million Credit Facility

Tabreed has signed a $100 million revolving credit facility with a group of financiers led by BNP Paribas to fund further expansion of company operations. The facility has an initial maturity of one year and is subject to two 12-month extension options at each lender’s discretion. The facility has a margin of 45 basis points (bps) per annum and a commitment fee of 13.5 bps per annum. The extension fee, where applicable, will be 5 bps flat per extension.

Gothenburg Fires Up Large-Scale CHP

Göteborg Energi AB, the local utility in Gothenburg, Sweden, in December 2006 started up the first large-scale power plant to be built in Sweden in 20 years. The new 260 MW combined heat and power plant, built in the Rya dock area of Gothenburg, will meet around 35 percent of the city’s district heating demands and 30 percent of its power requirements. The overall plant efficiency of 92.5 percent will save the environment carbon dioxide emissions of 600,000 tons per year. Siemens Power Generation supplied the turnkey natural gas-fired power plant, which includes three 45 MW SGT-800 gas turbines and one 141 MW SST-900 steam turbine.

New Standard to Define Green Buildings

A proposed new standard that will provide minimum guidelines for green building practices is nearing completion. Applicable to new commercial buildings and major renovation projects, it will address energy efficiency, a building’s impact on the atmosphere, sustainable sites, water use efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

Proposed Standard 189, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is being developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in conjunction with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and the U.S. Green Building Council. This is the first such green building standard in the United States. The proposed standard was released for public review; comments were accepted through July 9, 2007.

John Hogan, chair of the Standard 189 Project Committee, notes that the standard is not a building rating system but rather a compilation of criteria that must be met for local building code officials to provide a certificate of occupancy for a facility.

Energy efficiency will be a large part of the standard. The goal is to achieve a minimum of 30 percent reduction in energy cost (and carbon dioxide equivalent) over that in ANSI (American National Standards Institute)/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, which provides minimum energy efficiency design requirements for buildings except low-rise residential buildings and is the basis for building codes worldwide.

The standard shows leadership in renewable power generation on site by having high-performance green buildings avoid a total reliance on conventional energy sources. The committee that wrote the standard wants building projects to produce a minimum percentage of their peak electrical load through on-site generation such as by photovoltaic panels or equivalent solar water heating systems.

The committee is also looking at requirements for water-use efficiency, a construction plan, a transportation management plan and an indoor air quality management plan, to reduce materials and energy consumption as well as to reduce carbon emissions.

Shift Scheduling Report Available

Circadian Technologies Inc. has published a complimentary white paper on how companies can significantly improve facility performance by involving employees when creating shift schedules. Titled “Shift Scheduling & Employee Involvement: The Key to Great Schedules,” the report can be downloaded at www.circadian.com/email/wplandingpage.html.

Clean Energy Programs Announced for Ontario

Ontario’s Minister of Energy Dwight Duncan has announced two new initiatives to help reduce barriers for small energy generators and encourage larger cogeneration projects that will increase the province’s supply of cleaner energy. Duncan made the announcement June 14 at the Canadian District Energy Association (CDEA) conference.

The initiatives are part of Ontario’s Clean Energy Standard Offer Program, the first of its kind in North America. The program is intended to remove obstacles for smaller clean-source generating projects (10 MW or less) by providing a simplified process and stable pricing over a 20-year contract. Expected to be in place by the end of 2007, the program will be modeled on the Ontario Power Authority’s innovative Renewables Standard Offer Program for small projects using renewable sources.

Bruce Ander, CDEA chair, said, “The district energy sector is very pleased with the Clean Energy Standard Offer Program announced at today’s conference. This is continuing evidence of the [Ontario Premier Dalton] McGuinty government’s support for Ontario’s district energy sector…”

The province is also moving ahead with the next phase of Ontario’s combined heat and power initiative. The Ontario Power Authority will begin a request for expressions of interest, intended as the next step toward CHP procurements for larger cogeneration projects. This follows a successful CHP procurement completed last fall – the first of its kind in Canada. In October 2006, the Ontario Power Authority awarded seven contracts with a total capacity of 414 MW, representing a total capital investment of some Cdn. $800 million ($749 million).

Acordia Now Wells Fargo

IDEA-member Acordia announced in June that it has changed its name to Wells Fargo Insurance Services to better reflect the company’s ownership. Wells Fargo Insurance Services is the fifth largest insurance broker in the world and offers innovative solutions to complex risk management issues. Wells Fargo Bank recently announced a $3 billion lending initiative to green energy companies.

FVB Energy First U.S. TERMIS System Integrator

FVB Energy has become the first TERMIS system integrator in the United States. The company has chosen TERMIS as its district energy technology platform to serve existing and new clients. A product of Denmark-based 7-Technologies, TERMIS is a suite of software products for operating, designing, maintaining and repairing district energy systems. FVB Energy will use TERMIS as a tool for hydraulic modeling as well as for identification and quantification of strategies for increasing system efficiencies and reducing operating costs.

According to Thomas Samuely Lund-Hansen, vice president for 7-Technologies, “FVB Energy is the ideal partner” for exploring business opportunities and making a difference in the U.S. marketplace. “Together with our first customer, the University of New Mexico, we have a great kickoff for 7T here in the U.S.A,” he said.

TERMIS is in daily operation in 500 cities worldwide and is used by district energy operators, system integrators, engineering and consulting organizations to provide cost-efficient solutions to the district heating and cooling energy sector. For more information, visit www.7t.dk.

Perma-Pipe to Supply Middle East Projects

MFRI Inc. announced that its Perma-Pipe Middle East FZE subsidiary (a free zone establishment, a tax-free industrial zone in UAE) has received new orders totaling more than $11 million for preinsulated pipe for district cooling networks in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The company is supplying products for such projects as the New Doha International Airport and the Burj Dubai, anticipated to be the world’s tallest building when completed. According to Avin Gidwani, managing director of Perma-Pipe Middle East, the new orders will require that more than 50 miles of preinsulated pipe ranging in diameter from 2 to 72 inches be manufactured in the company’s Fujairah, UAE, plant.

“We are very pleased to be participating in these very important projects,” said Fati Elgendy, president and chief operating officer of Perm-Pipe Inc. “These projects establish Perma-Pipe Middle East as a major supplier for district cooling systems in the United Arab Emirates and The Gulf States.”

Guelph Approves Community Energy Plan

The City of Guelph, Ont., has developed a comprehensive community energy plan, approved by the Guelph city council April 23. The plan, which analyzes how the community currently uses energy and recommends how it can secure a reliable energy future, was developed under the leadership of energy consultant Garforth International LLC of Toledo, Ohio, together with a consortium of Guelph government, business and education leaders.

Among the ‘targets’ set forth in the plan is that at least 30 percent of Guelph’s anticipated electricity requirements be met by means of combined heat and power by 2031. Today the city uses 1,627 GWhe/yr of electricity all distributed with no heat recovery. The plan encourages development of CHP projects, such as the one being implemented at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food office and potentially in areas such as the University of Guelph, which has a central steam system. Addressing Guelph’s growing consumer demand for air conditioning, the plan again recommends development of CHP, along with absorption chilling, ice-storage techniques and other strategies, for allowing the city to meet peak summer electricity requirements and avoid investment in new electrical infrastructure.

Guelph, population 100,000, is located 100 km (62 miles) west of Toronto. For details on the city’s energy plan, visit www.guelph.ca/living.cfm?subCatID=1548&smocid=2127.

District Cooling Serves Palm Jumeirah

Stellar announced June 26 that it has started pumping chilled water to air-conditioning systems throughout Palm Jumeirah’s Shoreline Apartments in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The district cooling plant is owned by Palm District Cooling and located underground on the trunk of Palm Jumeirah, a manmade island in the shape of a date palm. The 150 million dirham ($41 million) cooling plant is the first district cooling plant to be operational within the whole Palm Jumeirah project.

Capable of serving more than 2,000 apartments, the hidden underground plant is designed to be environmentally friendly and extremely reliable. Stellar will be equipping another district cooling plant on Palm Jumeirah once the cooling demand on the trunk outgrows this first plant.

Oil Companies Invest in Fat as Energy Source

According to a June 25 article in The Wall Street Journal, Syntroleum Corp. and Tyson Foods Inc. will build a $150 million plant in the south central U.S. that will turn fat from Tyson’s processing plants into liquid fuel. Tyson is also partnering with ConocoPhillips in another venture in which Conoco will refine fat from Tyson plants to produce ‘renewable diesel’ to mix into its petroleum-based diesel fuel.

Tulsa-based Syntroleum had previously attempted to make liquid transportation fuel out of natural gas. Frustrated by its lack of success, the company turned last summer to exploring making fuel from fat.

Government mandates for more alternative fuel production and the availability of subsidies to pay for such production are advancing the oil industry’s development of fat as fuel. Renewable diesel is also being studied and made in other countries, including Finland and Italy. The processes involved in the Syntroleum and Conoco fuel-from-fat initiatives are different. Syntroleum can use the dirtiest and cheapest fats (the company is testing dozens of fats such as used cooking oil, chicken fat, and taco and pizza grease) and will make fuel using fats only – no petroleum. Conoco, however, can utilize only fairly clean fats in its refineries and plans to add the resulting diesel into its conventional diesel at concentrations of up to 5 percent.

These fat-derived fuels are still considered test fuels. Syntroleum recently signed an agreement to supply 500 gallons of fat-based jet fuel to the U.S. Air Force for testing.

Mashreq Named Loan Arranger for Qatar Cool

The Qatar District Cooling Company QCSC (Qatar Cool) mandated Mashreq as mandated lead arranger, underwriter and book runner to arrange a 12-year, $285 million secured term loan facility. The Commercial Bank of Qatar QSC and First Gulf Bank joined the facility as mandated lead arrangers and sub-underwriters.

The general syndication for the facility, launched by the mandated lead arrangers May 14, was well-received internationally, and 16 banks from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, China, India and South Korea joined the syndicate at various levels.

The proceeds from this facility are to be used to refinance the existing $69 million term loan raised by the borrower in September 2005 and to meet the capital expansion plans of the borrower in the West Bay area of Doha and on The Pearl-Qatar.

Oregon Project Team Signs Energy Declaration

The design and development team for Independence Station, a $15 million, 57,000-sq-ft mixed-use development in downtown Independence, Ore., signed a Declaration of Energy Independence during the recent 18th annual Energy Efficiency Forum in Washington, D.C. The team includes Johnson Controls, general contractor and project manager; Aldeia Development, the project’s owner and developer; and Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects, the architect of record. The design architect is Seder Architects pc.

The declaration is a ceremonial agreement acknowledging Independence Station’s commitment to use only renewable sources of energy, primarily solar power and biofuels. The signed document will be on permanent display at Independence Station, which is the largest single project ever built in the city’s historic downtown district.

When completed in 2008, Independence Station is expected to achieve LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum certification, the highest level of green building recognition attainable with 64 to 66 LEED points, making it the single highest-scoring LEED-rated building in the world. Among the project’s many sustainable design components are harvesting and reuse of rainwater, green roofs on two above-ground decks, a biofueled cogeneration system with thermal storage, and radiant floor heating and cooling systems in the residential units. The anticipated utility costs on the project will be 92 percent less than in a typical code-compliant building of this size and type.
Additional information on the project is available at www.independencestation.com.

Milster Speaks on UI’s Carbon Reduction

IDEA member Ferman Milster, associate director of utilities at the University of Iowa (UI), spoke at a news conference held at the university April 17 by the Iowa Public Interest Research Group. He addressed the group on the topic of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s April 2007 report “The Carbon Boom: State and National Trends in Carbon Dioxide Emissions Since 1990,” as well as the UI’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions. His remarks are available at www.URLADDRESSTOCOME.HTM.

Montpelier Considers District Heating

The Times Argus reported June 26 that Montpelier, Vt., may build a district heating system. Although the city has been interested in developing district heating for some time, it had delayed moving forward with such a project in hopes that the state would expand its heating plant with enough capacity to help heat downtown buildings. Since it now appears, however, that excess capacity from any expansion of the state plant cannot be guaranteed to the city, the city is considering building a district heating plant of its own. The city estimates that a district heating system could reduce property owners’ heating costs by more than 10 percent.

The Globe and Mail Cites Enwave Benefits

In an article titled “It’s hot, hazy and humid, so ease up water and AC” published June 27, The Globe and Mail in Toronto noted Enwave Energy Corp. has helped take the heat off during hot weather: “Last year, the TD Centre saved 12 million kilowatt hours – the equivalent to taking 2,300 cars off the road – through its deep-lake water cooling system with Enwave. The program brings ice cold water from the depths of Lake Ontario through underground pipes to city buildings, allowing them to get rid of cooling systems that eat up energy, the building's general manager said.

“’It's been a huge success,’ Steven Sorensen said, adding that during heat waves, the building managers remind tenants to lower blinds and cut lighting where possible.”

Biomass Plant Coming to Minnesota Campus

The University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM) is currently constructing a biomass gasification reactor and facility on campus. The reactor, located near UMM’s current heating plant, will convert corn stalks and other residual materials into a syngas – similar to natural gas – that can be burned to produce clean energy to generate heat (and cooling in the near future) for the campus. The facility will serve as a platform for UMM’s research partners to identify tradeoffs and opportunities surrounding gasifying other agricultural residues.

The gasifier’s intended impact is to offset more than 80 percent of UMM’s heating and cooling needs currently met by fossil fuels, like natural gas and fuel oil. By replacing a majority of its traditional fuel mix, UMM will lessen its impact on global warming and provide new revenue streams for area agricultural producers.

The gasifier is one more step toward UMM’s goal of reaching energy self-sufficiency by the 2010s. UMM has been cited for its environmental leadership by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To learn more about UMM’s green initiatives, visit www.morris.umn.edu/greencampus.

Hot Water for The Hague

The Associated Press reported July 5 that water from a geothermal well will be used in The Hague to heat 4,000 Dutch homes and several factories as part of a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Hague aims to be CO2-neutral by 2050.

The plan would be the largest attempted in the Netherlands and is unusual in its design. According to The Hague’s housing department, water of 167 degrees F was discovered at a depth of 2,200 meters in the city’s southwest.

“This geothermal energy will be transported to the district heating network through heat exchangers,” the department said. “ Via a network of pipes, the energy eventually will be distributed to the houses,” which will be equipped with underfloor heating instead of a radiator. The first houses will be connected by the winter of 2008.

The project cost is $62.6 million, or $15,640 per house, but the city will guarantee inhabitants that their heating bills will be equal to or less than those of people using regular heating.

The department said the project would result in a major savings in net carbon dioxide released, although running the pumps would require some electricity. Once used, the water will flow to a second well.

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