District Energy & Data Centers, like the chocolate and peanut butter in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, go better together. Data centers produce huge volumes of low-grade heat, while demanding constant, year-round cooling and firm, clean power, ideally located on site or nearby. At IDEA2025, the district energy industry will come together with global and national leaders from the data center industry to explore opportunities for convergence.
This workshop will focus on market opportunities for the co-location and integration of data centers with district energy systems while exploring technical, business and regulatory considerations. Proliferation of data centers to support growing digital demand is compounding needs for firmer power supplies, baseload cooling and potential recovery of huge volumes of low- grade heat. Projections call for expansion of electricity capacity and the need for substantial infrastructure investment.
This workshop will feature the following:
• A global data center operator will outline their Heat Export program and collaboration opportunities with district energy providers, and explain the scale of the energy needs for downtown retail and hyperscale data campuses
• A Data Center association will share emerging trends in energy and policy
• Government agency perspectives on managing regulatory issues for grid infrastructure and opportunities to deploy district energy
• Technology innovations and potential co-location of CHP, thermal storage and advanced energy optimization strategies
• Policy, regulatory and business best practice considerations
The workshop is intended for utility executives, district energy operators, technology and equipment providers and government policy/regulatory professionals.