Blogs

Feds consider bigger role for local government in climate fight

By District Energy posted 14 minutes ago
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National Observer Summary Ottawa is exploring ways to give municipalities a bigger role in delivering billions in climate and infrastructure funding, as communities argue they can do the job faster and more effectively. Documents obtained by Canada's National Observer through an Access to Information request to Natural Resources Canada show the Federation of Canadian Municipalities pushed the federal government to direct part of a new $6-billion infrastructure stream through its Green Municipal Fund, arguing it could quickly roll out projects across the country without creating a new bureaucracy. The Green Municipal Fund already has experience ...
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Northern Virginia Wants to Turn Data Center Waste Heat into a Community Resource

By District Energy posted 21 minutes ago
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Engineered Systems Summary The numbers are hard to ignore. In Northern Virginia – already home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world – peak energy usage from those facilities hit an estimated 2.8 gigawatts in 2022. By 2038, the regional utility is forecasting that number climbs to roughly 14 gigawatts. With approximately 265 data centers currently operating and another 110 planned before 2035, the region is staring down an infrastructure challenge that no single solution can fix on its own. "The practical reality is both are not going to succeed without working together," said Michael Ahearn, who leads the system development group ...
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Singapore is showing why cooling is the next investment asset

By District Energy posted 27 minutes ago
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Business Times Summary As the world warms, the demand for thermal resilience is skyrocketing. According to a joint report by the International Finance Corporation and the UN Environment Programme, the global sustainable cooling market is projected to grow to at least US$600 billion in annual demand by 2050. This isn’t just about selling more air-con units; it is about a fundamental redesign of urban living. Three distinct investable pillars are emerging. First, cooling tech and materials innovation. They include district cooling networks that achieve massive economies of scale, passive cooling materials and “super-reflective” surfaces that turn buildings ...
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Construction works safeguard heating and cooling in Helsinki

By District Energy posted 31 minutes ago
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Helen Summary An excavator on the street and site fencing on the pavement are a familiar sight in Helsinki in summer. Maintenance of the district heating and cooling networks is scheduled for the warmer season, when works can be carried out with minimal disruption while ensuring that heating and cooling operate reliably all year round. Summer is the optimal time for maintenance and renewal work on the district heating network. The ground is unfrozen and heating demand is low, allowing ageing infrastructure to be repaired and upgraded with minimal disruption to everyday life in the city. The reliability of Helsinki’s district heating ...
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Empower inaugurates advanced Command Control Centre at its new headquarters to enhance operational efficiency

By District Energy posted 34 minutes ago
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Government of Dubai Summary Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation PJSC (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, announced the inauguration of its advanced Command Control Centre (CCC) at the company’s new headquarters. H.E. Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, inaugurated the state-of-the-art centre, which represents a key component of the company’s digital infrastructure and technological ecosystem that supports its round-the-clock operations, ensuring 99.99% network reliability. This strategic step reinforces Empower’s pioneering position in adopting the latest digital technologies and smart systems. “The new Command Control ...
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Sustainability Forum Middle East Roundtable highlights pathways for accelerating energy efficiency

By District Energy posted 36 minutes ago
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Zawya Summary Sustainability Forum Middle East (SFME), hosted a high-level roundtable on “Accelerating Energy Efficiency Delivery under Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy” at the Wyndham Grand Manama Hotel, Kingdom of Bahrain. The session brought together senior representatives from multilateral organisations, government entities, utilities, developers, and financial institutions to examine how Bahrain can accelerate the implementation of energy efficiency objectives as part of its broader energy transition agenda. Experts discussed district cooling as a proven large-scale solution that can reduce electricity consumption, improve energy performance, ...
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Kepco secures $1.4bn Saudi cogeneration project from Aramco

By District Energy posted 43 minutes ago
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GDN Online Summary Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) has secured a key contract to develop the second phase of Saudi Arabia's Jafurah cogeneration power plant, expanding its presence in the Middle East's growing energy sector, reported Korea Times. The project involves the construction of a 331-megawatt cogeneration plant capable of producing around 465 tonnes of steam per hour. Commercial operations are expected to begin by June 2029, stated the report. Continue Reading #News #CHP
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Catching AI data center heat to cut energy costs and benefit communities

By District Energy posted 5 days ago
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West Virginia Watch Summary Artificial intelligence data centers are arriving faster in Appalachia than the policies to manage them. In March, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that Google would build an AI data center in Putnam County. At the same time, public skepticism is rising, with four in 10 Americans saying that data centers are mostly bad for the environment and home energy costs. This tension frames a real issue. As a March Brookings report on AI data centers in rural communities put it, “The central question is not whether data centers are ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ but how benefits and risks get allocated and what forms of governance, ...
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Denver Looks to Sewers, Geothermal Wells for Downtown Energy Network

By District Energy posted 5 days ago
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ENR Summary Denver officials are exploring an infrastructure strategy that could offer a blueprint for retrofitting dense downtowns. The city is advancing a pilot project that will use geothermal wells and heat recovered from wastewater to create a shared ambient-loop network between two downtown buildings and a sidewalk snowmelt system. It plans to later expand to as many as 10 municipal buildings, with an estimated cost between approximately $280 million and $320 million over the next decade. City officials plan to reuse portions of Denver's existing district infrastructure where possible to build the network, rather than build from scratch. Continue ...
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Huge £500m retrofit bonanza for universities

By District Energy posted 5 days ago
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Energy News Live Summary UK universities are set for a £500m retrofit boost under a new financing deal between Lloyds Banking Group and the National Wealth Fund. The initiative will help universities upgrade ageing campus buildings, cut energy use and install low carbon heating across some of the most complex estates in the built environment. The programme could modernise up to 300 university buildings used by students, staff and researchers. Continue Reading #News
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As geothermal networks grow, so does the call for a new utility model

By District Energy posted 5 days ago
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Canary Media Summary When a neighborhood-scale geothermal network came online in Framingham, Massachusetts, two years ago, it was hailed as groundbreaking. The first-of-its-kind system, owned by the state’s largest utility, Eversource, delivers warm and cool air to some 140 customers through pipes much like the ones that used to carry natural gas to those homes and businesses. But instead of burning fossil fuels to generate warmth, the network draws on emissions-free thermal energy stored in the ground beneath the community. To deliver cool air, the system returns the heat back into the earth. Supporters say this approach to climate-friendly ...
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Storing renewables with compressed air in urban heating pipeline

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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pv magazine Summary Researchers in China have proposed a novel method for storing surplus renewable energy by converting it into compressed air and integrating it into urban district heating pipelines. In this concept, existing infrastructure used to circulate hot water or steam for building heating is repurposed as an energy storage medium. The system operates on an adiabatic principle, in which the heat generated during air compression is captured and reused rather than dissipated, improving overall efficiency. Continue Reading #News #DistrictHeating
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European Data Centers Reuse Waste Heat to Heat Homes

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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Let's Data Science Summary Several European projects are redirecting waste heat from large data centers into local heating systems. Per Google, the Hamina data center will supply 80% of the annual heat demand for a local district, according to Google's corporate blog. Microsoft reports a Høje-Taastrup, Denmark data center under construction will produce enough surplus heat to warm about 6,000 homes, per a Microsoft local blog post. SlashGear reports Microsoft has a partnership with Fortum in Finland targeting heat delivery to 250,000 homes and businesses. Equinix describes a multi-site heat export program, including a project with Markham District Energy ...
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Massive AI data centre proposed for Hamilton’s former Stelco lands

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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urbanicity Summary As part of a substantial revitalization project on the former Stelco lands, Slate Asset Management is proposing Canada’s first publicly owned AI data centre with the primary intent of storing data from academic research at Canadian post-secondary institutions. The whole of Slate’s plans for Steelport forecast a $10 billion injection into Hamilton’s economy and the creation of over 30,000 jobs across the GTHA. They also indicate an environmentally sustainable approach. “A clean infrastructure ecosystem designed with partners, including Hamilton Community Enterprises, will maximize energy resiliency, efficiency, and the productivity ...
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Ireland Government urged to ‘move rapidly’ to increase supports for district heating in Budget

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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Irish Independent Summary The Government has been urged to “move rapidly” to make sure the 300,000 new homes planned for Ireland by 2030 can avail of district heating. The Irish District Energy Association (IrDEA) has urged the Government to increase supports for district heating in this year’s Budget. More than one third of all energy used in the country is used to generate heat, however around 90pc of this is still generated using fossil fuels, with 80pc of these imported from outside the country. District heating uses energy from sources within Ireland, such as renewable energy or waste heat from data centres, to distribute heat to homes and businesses. ...
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New Aalborg University Hospital to reduce emissions with sustainable district cooling

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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Johnson Controls Summary New Aalborg University Hospital (NAU) partnered with Aalborg Forsyning to implement Denmark’s most effective and sustainable district cooling systems. By using lake water as a stable thermal energy source—enabled by advanced Sabroe ChillPAC chillers and Sabroe HeatPAC heat pumps, the hospital can deliver reliable cooling and heating with significantly lower energy use. The solution is projected to achieve major energy savings and emissions reductions while ensuring consistent patient comfort across the hospital’s 330,000 m² facility. Continue Reading #MemberNewsIDEA #JohnsonControls #DistrictCooling
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Wasl Tower Redefines Sustainable Luxury Living and Hospitality in the Heart of Dubai

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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Global Design News Summary Rising 302 metres above Sheikh Zayed Road beside the Burj Khalifa, Wasl Tower has officially completed construction, introducing a new benchmark for sustainable high-rise architecture in the Middle East. Sustainability measures extend beyond the facade. Solar thermal panels, reflective glazing, daylight-responsive lighting systems, district cooling, and integrated heat pumps contribute to the building’s reduced environmental footprint. Continue Reading #News #MemberNewsIDEA #DistrictCooling #Empower
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German Stakeholders Share Insights on Using Data Center Waste Heat in District Heating at European Tech Show

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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Natural Refrigerants Summary A panel of stakeholders ‒ representing German data center operators, energy utilities and municipality leadership ‒ shared insights into reusing data center waste heat to decarbonize district heating at Tech Show Frankfurt 2026 . Positioning themselves as pioneers in data center heat-reuse schemes, the panel emphasized that successful projects rely on early municipal planning that aligns power, heat and zoning. Other points discussed included financing, potential for industrial applications and regulations. The event was held May 6‒7. At its Maniz energy campus, KMW is building three data centers with a combined ...
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How Big Pharma Is Turning Industrial Heat Into A Strategic Asset

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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Forbes Summary Inside a pharmaceutical plant, heat is everywhere—and until recently, almost nobody was paying attention to it. Steam rising from boilers. High-temperature reactions turn raw inputs into finished drugs. Buildings and manufacturing lines are kept at precise temperatures around the clock. For decades, the fuel behind it all was natural gas, cheap enough that nobody questioned it and complex enough that nobody wanted to touch it Now, AstraZeneca , working with the supply chain platform Secaro and the sustainability consultancy ERM, is launching a Clean Heat Program designed to do something that's proven surprisingly hard: systematically ...
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2G Energy AG has secured a significant order from its Data Center business segment

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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EQS Summary 2G Energy AG (ISIN DE000A0HL8N9), one of the internationally leading manufacturers of sustainable power plants and combined heat and power (CHP) systems as well as a producer of heat pumps, has secured a substantial order in its Data Center business segment. Order volume is in the low triple ‑ digit megawatt range. The order, placed by a North American customer whose identity remains confidential, includes a large number of containerized power plants, including on‑site commissioning. The order represents the largest single contract in 2Gs’ history. Continue Reading #MemberNewsIDEA #2GEnergy #CHP #DataCenter
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