IDEA’s 116th Annual Conference & Trade Show is being held in Minneapolis in early June. Cordia Energy is a leader in the integration and innovation of district energy systems in cities across the United States. District energy has been critical infrastructure in downtown Minneapolis for over 50 years. Their team will be presenting and giving a tour of some of their facilities at IDEA2025. Read on for a pre-conference preview.
In cities across North America, decarbonization and energy resilience aren’t just ambitions—they’re imperatives. With rising urban populations and increasingly urgent climate goals, infrastructure needs to keep up. District energy systems offer a powerful solution, enabling efficient, centralized heating and cooling that can scale with communities and adapt to cleaner energy sources.
For Cordia, a leading district energy provider, the path forward is clear. With ambitious projects in Minneapolis and across the United States, Cordia is creating sustainable district energy blueprints that others can follow.
Community, Connection and Innovation in Minnesota
District energy infrastructure in downtown Minneapolis spans more than 50 years, powering key buildings and public venues with reliable, resilient steam and chilled water service. What began in 1972 with thermal energy services to the IDS Center has grown into a major district energy network that now supports more than 100 downtown customers that include, among many others, the Minneapolis Convention Center, Target Center, U.S. Bank Plaza, the Federal Reserve and The Dayton’s Project.
Today, Cordia operates 14 miles of district energy piping beneath downtown Minneapolis, and that infrastructure continues to grow. In 2024, IDEA recognized the Minneapolis system as having the highest growth rate of any system in North America. The central system and six satellite plants provide heating and cooling to over 100 customers. That expansion is not just about pipes and generation capacity; it fuels Cordia’s deep connection to the local community.
Cordia is a Skyline Partner of the mpls downtown council , a group committed to “creating an extraordinary downtown,” and Cordia shares that vision.
“As Minneapolis continues its rapid growth, our system is designed to grow with it,” said Jacob Graff, North and West Regional President at Corida. “The ease and efficiency of connection to our system is a key driver of cost-savings for business, and, hopefully, an incentive to join the downtown Minneapolis community. We’re excited to keep pace with the city’s development and expand the benefits of district energy to more customers.”
This collaborative spirit has helped Cordia stay aligned with Minneapolis’s climate and energy goals. The city has set an ambitious target to become carbon neutral by 2040, and Cordia is a key partner in achieving it. The company has developed a Carbon-Free Cooling initiative in collaboration with the city’s sustainability team—an effort to deliver clean, efficient cooling to all Cordia-supplied municipal buildings.
The Dayton’s Project: Transforming Infrastructure and Preserving History
Cordia’s long-standing presence in Minneapolis has allowed it to play a part in significant historical moments. They provided energy to the Metrodome during the Twins' World Series victories in 1987 and 1991, many events including the 2018 Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium and multiple NCAA Final Four tournaments. And they’re currently helping create a new future for an important piece of Minneapolis history.
Dayton’s, a Midwest department store chain started in 1902, had a flagship store on First Ave in Minneapolis for almost 100 years. While the company itself lives on as Target, the First Ave flagship closed in 2001, shuttering a major part of downtown with it. After two stints under other department store ownership, the building was empty starting in 2017. In 2023, it reopened as “The Dayton’s Project,” a collection of office and retail space dedicated to showcasing local, independent companies. Cordia has been heavily involved in the project, developing one of its six satellite districts to integrate with Dayton’s.
“Cordia is dedicated to being an energy partner to the Minneapolis community, and developing a next-generation district energy system for the next generation of Dayton’s is a perfect example of that partnership,” said Graff. “We’re looking forward to continuing to power the future of downtown Minneapolis.”
For the project, Cordia redeveloped the building’s entire boiler room to accommodate three 1,500-ton York chillers, replacing three 1960s-era 700-ton chillers and doubling the plant’s chilling capacity. To power the plant, the district energy system will aggregate wind and solar energy to support both Cordia and Minneapolis’s decarbonization efforts. As part of the IDEA2025 technical tours, Cordia is offering tours of its system at Dayton’s.
Beyond the Midwest: Integrating Renewable Energy Across the United States
Out on the west coast, Cordia is transforming downtown San Diego through a long-term partnership with the city. Cordia San Diego (formerly known as San Diego District Cooling) manages and operates the downtown cooling system, providing chilled water to 3.2 million square feet of commercial and municipal buildings. With decarbonization and reliability top of mind, Cordia is investing significantly in modernizing the system and reducing emissions.
The existing system already offers substantial advantages: it eliminates the need for more than 18 buildings to operate their own chillers, reducing both cost and carbon emissions. But Cordia wasn’t going to stop there.
In 2012, Cordia implemented the Capture H2O High Cycle Program, a patented cooling water treatment solution designed to reduce water consumption with minimal use of chemicals. This program employs dual alternating high-efficiency softeners and leverages the natural chemistry of water to prevent scale, corrosion and bacterial growth. The previous cooling tower systems relied on traditional chemical water treatment methods, including the use of sulfuric acid to manage pH levels and biocide to manage microorganisms. This approach not only posed significant safety risks to staff but also resulted in inefficient water use, equipment scaling and increased operational costs.
Their investments in efficiency have paid off. Since 2017, Cordia has saved over 54 million gallons of water and reduced city and sewer water bills by $180,715. In 2024 alone they saved 10.3 million gallons of water and achieved a 60% internal rate of return (IRR) from water savings with the Capture H2O High Cycle Program.
District systems like Cordia’s in San Diego, which is currently purchasing 50% renewable electric power with plans to expand soon, serve as scalable platforms for clean energy adoption. Because of their centralized nature, these systems can integrate emerging technologies more rapidly and cost-effectively than individual buildings ever could. With increasing demands on the grid, urban centers need flexible infrastructure that can support load shifting and backup power. Cordia’s approach to updating this system enables exactly that, ensuring a resilient and reliable energy future for San Diego’s downtown.
A Place- and People-Focused Energy Future
In both Minneapolis and San Diego, Cordia’s efforts reveal a deep understanding of what it takes to create a low-carbon energy future: collaboration, commitment and technical expertise. While the systems and cities differ, the strategy of using centralized infrastructure to amplify efficiency, reduce emissions and ensure long-term resilience remains the same.
Importantly, Cordia’s work is rooted in place. In Minneapolis, that means continuing a 50-year legacy of service, building strong civic partnerships and supporting city goals. In San Diego, it means investing in a decades-long collaboration to bring clean, cooling energy to the heart of a growing city.
As more cities look to decarbonize, Cordia’s approach offers a replicable model. And it’s not just about the infrastructure. It’s about delivering measurable community benefits—jobs, cleaner air, cost savings and more livable, lively downtowns.
Cordia will be at IDEA2025 from June 2-5 in Minneapolis, MN presenting and giving a technical tour of the Dayton’s facility. Learn more about the conference here: Home - IDEA2025
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