Blogs

Data Center's Hidden Energy Advantage

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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Data Center Post Summary As the number of data centers grows, so do concerns about location, power access, and grid capacity, especially as AI and cloud computing drive surging electricity demand. Yet, data centers hold an unexpected solution: the waste heat they generate can be harnessed for community benefit. Captured through district energy systems, this heat can be transformed into a valuable community resource that provides low-carbon warmth, improves grid stability, and redefines data centers as energy partners. The Power Behind the Numbers In 2023, data centers accounted for roughly 4.4% of total U.S. electricity use, a share projected to ...
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Oak Ridge National Laboratory launches the Next-Generation Data Centers Institute

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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newswise Summary In response to the societal challenge of growing electricity demand from AI data centers, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is launching the Next Generation Data Centers Institute (NGDCI). This internal ORNL institute will unite the laboratory’s unique expertise and facilities that span energy technologies, high-performance computing, cybersecurity, and grid science to ensure that America’s rapidly growing AI infrastructure remains secure, efficient, and reliable. Data centers account for more than 4% of U.S. electricity use , and by 2030, that figure could climb as high as 17%, according to analysis by the Electric ...
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New report: Sustainability is driving major cost savings across UC

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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University of California Summary The University of California has saved approximately $620 million since 2010 by improving the energy efficiency of its facilities, with $100 million of those savings in 2024 alone. “There’s a general misconception that environmentally sustainable operations are more costly than doing business as usual,” says University of California Chief Financial Officer Nathan Brostrom. “But what we’ve found over 22 years of setting and meeting ambitious sustainability goals at the University of California is that environmental and financial sustainability are two sides of the same coin, because using resources more efficiently often ...
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Con Edison Thermal Energy Network Pilots in New York City

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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wsp Summary Buildings are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in New York State. Most of these emissions come from onsite combustion of fossil fuels for basic needs, such as heating, hot water and cooking. Decarbonizing buildings therefore represents one of the most critical — and challenging — opportunities in dense urban environments. Yet there’s an alternative way to transition these buildings rather than full-building electrification. Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) use shared underground piping and centralized thermal infrastructure to support low-carbon heating and cooling to multiple buildings. These systems enable heat recovery ...
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Keeping cool: CHP systems and absorption chillers are a winning combo for data center developers

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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Renewable Energy World Summary Data center demand is surging due to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, and developers are under pressure to find reliable, resilient, and cost-efficient power sources. Microgrids are rising to meet this challenge. These localized energy resources can operate independently of the main grid and help data center owners and operators to meet their power generation needs. But achieving optimal results from microgrids requires planning for the right mix and configuration of technologies such as renewables, storage, gensets, and thermal assets. The right mix and sizing of these energy generation and ...
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Oracle Commits to Sustainable Future in New Mexico

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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Las Cruces Today Summary Oracle has submitted a letter to the New Mexico Environment Department in support of air permit approval for the Doña Ana County East and West Microgrids tied to its planned Project Jupiter AI data center campus in southern New Mexico. The microgrids will use advanced emission controls and be subject to continuous monitoring to meet or exceed air quality standards, with plans to integrate renewable energy like solar and fuel cells in the future. The project is expected to deliver significant economic benefits to the region, including thousands of construction jobs, up to 1,500 ongoing jobs, and over $360 million in direct payments ...
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Sustainable Success at CMU

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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CMU Now Summary CMU’s geo-exchange system is just one of many initiatives that have made the university more sustainable in the past, present and future. A major milestone in CMU’s sustainability journey came in 2008 with the launch of the Thermal Energy Network (TEN), a campus-wide geo-exchange system. The project began after Governor Ritter’s executive order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent in 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. CMU’s geo-exchange system covers approximately 70 percent of the campus and plays a crucial role in reducing the university’s carbon footprint. The benefits of this geo-exchange system extend beyond the environmental ...
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Introba supports Kelowna Airport’s terminal expansion

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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Canadian Consulting Engineer Summary Introba recently celebrated the official public opening of Kelowna International Airport’s ( YLW ’s) terminal expansion, which the firm says sets “a new benchmark for sustainable, future-ready airport infrastructure.” YLW has committed to achieving carbon-neutral building operations by 2023 and net-zero airport operations by 2040. The project integrates geo-exchange and thermal recovery heat pumps for low-carbon heating and uses mass-timber construction to reduce embodied carbon. Continue Reading #News #GeothermalandGeo-Exchange #HeatPumps
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Trane presents high-temperature water-to-water heat pump

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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pv magazine Summary Ireland-based heating technology manufacturer Trane has launched a new high-temperature water-to-water heat pump series for industrial and commercial district heating applications. The City RTSF HT heat pump operates in heating mode with source-side temperatures ranging from 30 C to 62 C and can deliver heat-sink temperatures of up to 110 C, making it suitable for retrofit projects, process heating and applications requiring hot water production above standard heat pump limits, according to the company. According to Trane, the heat pump is designed for water-to-water heating applications up to 110 C, including industrial processes ...
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Warsaw opens major waste-to-energy plant

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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Polskiieradio Summary Warsaw has opened a new waste-to-energy plant that will process nearly 30 percent of the city’s trash and turn it into electricity and heat. Known as the Warsaw Energy Production Plant, the installation is one of the largest industrial projects completed in Poland in recent years. Trzaskowski said the plant cost more than PLN 1.5 billion (around EUR 360 million). He compared the expense to that of the Vistula Spit canal, a major national infrastructure project. About one-third of Warsaw’s waste will now be converted into electricity and district heating, he said. Continue Reading #News #DistrictHeating
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How a police data centre is heating London’s homes

By District Energy posted 23 hours ago
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postive.news Summary A west London project will use waste heat from a data centre to supply low-carbon heating to 4,000 homes and a new commercial district. With millennia of history, hundreds of miles of underground rail and thousands of miles of sewers and pipelines, making large-scale sustainable infrastructural changes in central London is incredibly complex. A redevelopment project in west London is nevertheless set to use waste heat from a data centre in an ambient loop network to supply low-carbon heating to 4,000 homes and a new commercial district. The network will circulate low-temperature water through underground pipes to capture ...
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Constellation clout New Nissan Stadium

By District Energy posted yesterday
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Coliseum Summary Constellation, the largest producer of clean energy in the United States and a leading supplier of energy products and services, announced recently a long-term agreement to serve as the preferred energy source of the New Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (US), and the National Football League (NFL) team Tennessee Titans. ‘Constellation’ further stated that Constellation will operate a state-of-the-art, onsite energy plant at the team’s Nissan Stadium that is designed to deliver unmatched reliability, fan comfort and energy efficiency – ensuring that the stadium performs at the highest level while supporting Nashville’s economic ...
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SFU partners with businesses to boost sustainability of Canada’s fastest academic supercomputer

By District Energy posted yesterday
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Simon Fraser University Summary SFU has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with three strategic partners, including Corix, to build on the industry-leading efficiency and sustainability of the Cedar Supercomputing Centre at its Burnaby campus, which houses Fir, the fastest and most powerful academic supercomputer system in Canada. The agreements formalize collaborations with industry-leading partners, targeting specialist needs. Each partnership will further boost the sustainability credentials of the Cedar Supercomputing Centre (CSC), which is powered by clean hydroelectric energy and already boasts an industry-leading power usage effectiveness ...
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Building the business case for sustainable airports

By District Energy posted yesterday
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Buro Happold Summary Aviation operators are contending with mounting, simultaneous pressures: rising global demand, essential growth activities, decarbonisation expectations and day-to-day operational realities. How can near and long-term capacity growth be considered alongside decarbonisation, resilience and circularity objectives? Current strategies being evaluated across the sector include onsite generation and microgrids, district heating/cooling and hydrogen readiness. On-site low and zero carbon technologies like microgrids develop and improve resilience, drive decarbonisation and can provide services to the broader community within which the airport ...
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Theatre Royal Plymouth secures £500,000 for upgrade

By District Energy posted yesterday
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The Business Desk Summary Plymouth Theatre Royal is to receive £500,000 from Plymouth City Council to replace its aging heating system and connect to a city-wide heat network. The money, allocated from the Community Infrastructure Levy, will fund the replacement and modernisation of the theatre’s heating system and its connection to the Civic District Energy Scheme. The Civic District Energy Scheme was commissioned in 2020 and currently serves the Guildhall and the Council House using air source heat. Connection to the theatre and other buildings in the area was planned as the next phase. Continue Reading #News #DistrictEnergy
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This Small Canadian Town Is Turning Abandoned Coal Mines Into a Massive Clean Energy Network

By District Energy posted yesterday
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Daily Galaxy Summary Flooded coal mines beneath Cumberland, British Columbia are being studied as the foundation for a town-wide geothermal system . Local leaders and university researchers are testing whether water pooled in the abandoned tunnels can provide low-carbon heating and cooling. Now, through the Cumberland District Energy project, the municipality is partnering with the University of Victoria-led Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET) initiative to assess whether mine water can serve as a geothermal resource. The underground labyrinth that once powered an extractive economy is now being evaluated as a shared, low-carbon ...
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Brock University joins national sustainable development awareness campaign

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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Brock University Summary Brock University is joining post-secondary institutions across Canada this month to raise awareness of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Students, faculty and staff can learn more about the 17 SDGs through a series of SDG Month Canada events taking place at Brock during March. Adopted by all UN member states in 2015, the SDGs are part of a broader plan to build a more peaceful, prosperous planet by 2030. “The theme for this SDG Month this year is ‘Mobilizing Local Action for Global Impact,’ which really reflects the way our Brock community strives to drive positive change here in Niagara ...
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Geothermal district heating investment worth EUR 200 million starts in Bucharest

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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Balkan Green Energy News Summary Geothermal well developer and operator Green Tech International announced within its preliminary 2025 earnings report that it would conduct a EUR 200 million investment in the modernization and decarbonization of Bucharest’s district heating system, called SACET. The project is for the integration of geothermal energy. Existing geothermal wells in the northern part of the capital would be connected to a future geothermal plant of over 595 GWh in annual thermal energy output. Notably, it would correspond to some 70 MW in capacity. The new system will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 127,000 tons per year and avoid more ...
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Building the Gulf’s green workforce for the net-zero transition

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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Arab News Summary Partnering for Sustainable Futures: Education and Ecological Transformation — that was the message at the Terra Academia launch, held earlier this month at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF). The high-level conference gathered ministers, diplomats, academics, economists, and industry leaders to address ecological challenges in the Gulf. For Veolia, present in the GCC for over 50 years, the initiative reflects a strategic shift: developing local talent instead of importing expertise. The company operates Bahrain Bay since 2008, under a 75-year integrated resource management contract, running the country’s largest district ...
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Phaidra AI Pilot To Improve UAE Data Center Efficiency With Ministry And Private Partners

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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One Arabia Summary The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Khazna Data Centers, Agility and Phaidra are launching a pilot that uses artificial intelligence to cut energy use in data centers and district cooling systems across the UAE. The initiative supports the UAE Net Zero 2050 Strategy and national AI ambitions, targeting lower power consumption and stronger performance in large-scale digital infrastructure. Under that framework, the partners aim to extend AI-enabled optimisation beyond the initial pilot into wider UAE infrastructure, including district cooling operations. The Ministry intends to align any scaled deployments with the UAE Energy ...
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