Blogs

Podcast: Hot n' Cold: Talking efficiency with International District Energy Association

By District Energy posted 22 hours ago
S&P Global IDEA President & CEO Rob Thornton joined Hill Vaden and Samantha Humphreys of [tag]S&P Global Energy for the EnergyCents podcast to discuss how district energy networks are accelerating decarbonization in downtowns, campuses, clusters and communities more effectively and efficiently than traditional building-by-building approaches. The conversation also explores why district energy is gaining momentum globally as utilities, regulators, developers and policy-makers look for more practical, scalable solutions to today's energy challenges, including: 🏭 Cutting emissions from building heating and cooling $ ...

Europe told to cool its datacenter boom before water and power run short

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
Grundfos Summary Europe needs a policy framework that integrates water and energy efficiency if it wants to keep growing datacenter capacity to support its AI and cloud computing ambitions. This is the argument in a report, " Scale and Secure: Powering Europe's Digital Sovereignty ," which asserts that progress will depend not so much on access to the right silicon as on water and energy constraints. Integration between server halls and district heating networks is another aspect worth consideration, the report adds. Realizing the potential of excess heat reuse depends less on technical feasibility than on institutional and contractual alignment, ...

Berlin eyes up to 250 MW of geothermal heat by 2045

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
Think GeoEnergy Summary Berlin’s district heating utility sees geothermal becoming a major renewable heat source, targeting 70 MWth by 2035 and up to 250 MWth by 2045. The district heating utility of Berlin, Germany, BEW Berliner Energie und Wärme has outlined an ambitious role for geothermal energy in its long-term heat decarbonisation strategy , with a pathway that could see geothermal capacity reach up to 250 MWth by 2045. The plans form part of BEW’s updated decarbonisation roadmap, which charts how Germany’s largest district heating network will transition away from coal and fossil fuels. While geothermal remains subject to exploration success, ...

South Korea’s 100 GW Renewable Energy Plan Could Cut Fossil Fuel Import Bill by Half

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
Greentech Lead Summary South Korea’s plan to expand renewable energy capacity to 100 GW by 2030 could reduce the country’s annual fossil fuel power bill by nearly half, lowering costs to approximately $13 billion, according to new research from Ember and Global Energy Monitor (GEM). The renewable energy strategy is closely linked to South Korea’s broader decarbonization agenda. The country aims to significantly reduce coal-fired power generation by 2040 while electrifying sectors such as heating, which currently accounts for around 48 percent of final energy consumption. Policymakers are promoting electric heat pumps and renewable district heating systems ...

Potential Southampton heat network expansion could benefit more homes and businesses

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
V2 Radio Summary More homes and businesses in Southampton could benefit from low-cost heating if the expansion of a renewable energy scheme goes ahead. Southampton Geothermal Heating Company (SGHC) has grown from serving one customer in the mid-1980s to more than 58 commercial and public sector organisations and hundreds of households. The team behind the district heating and cooling system, which is based at West Quay Retail Park, are exploring expansion options. Continue Reading #News #GeothermalandGeo-Exchange #DistrictHeating

Switzerland Digs Massive Hole To Bury Nuclear-Scale Battery Into the Earth

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
Gadget Review Summary The complex combines AI computing, waste heat recovery, and district heating in a multibillion-dollar experiment. The real innovation lies in what else they’re building above ground. The Technology Center Laufenburg reportedly pairs the battery with a water-cooled AI data center , turning waste heat into district heating for nearby communities. This setup could prevent roughly 82,700 tons of CO₂ emissions over 30 years—basically turning data center cooling problems into neighborhood heating solutions. Construction allegedly began in spring 2025 , with Swissgrid approving an initial 800 MW grid connection. ...

University of Delaware - Energy Systems Engineer

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
University of Delaware Energy Systems Engineer Newark, Delaware, 19716, United States Context of Job Under limited direction, the Energy Systems Engineer will maintain and enhance the physical and enterprise infrastructure of UD’s energy metering and management systems. This position provides advanced technical support in the installation, operation, and maintenance of Energy metering and lighting control equipment including physical field devices, communications, methods and enterprise software systems. Major Responsibilities • Develop and implement a comprehensive energy conservation strategy and plan for the university ...

These Are The Invisible Decisions Driving Today's Development

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
Storeys Summary What’s old is new on the modern building front. At least, that's the case for Canada’s most strategic developers. Today’s construction challenges range from sky-high costs and supply shortages to perpetual economic uncertainty. This is a relatively new reality. For years, a surging real estate market meant Canada’s developers had little reason to consider alternative pathways to project delivery. But times have changed. Developers are now making a new set of infrastructure decisions early on. And getting them right has long-term consequences on project economics, density, and operational complexity. Savvy developers are turning to methods ...

Feds consider bigger role for local government in climate fight

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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 ...

Northern Virginia Wants to Turn Data Center Waste Heat into a Community Resource

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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 Ahern, who leads the system development group ...

Singapore is showing why cooling is the next investment asset

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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 ...

Construction works safeguard heating and cooling in Helsinki

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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 ...

Empower inaugurates advanced Command Control Centre at its new headquarters to enhance operational efficiency

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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 ...

Sustainability Forum Middle East Roundtable highlights pathways for accelerating energy efficiency

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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, ...

Kepco secures $1.4bn Saudi cogeneration project from Aramco

By District Energy posted 2 days ago
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

Catching AI data center heat to cut energy costs and benefit communities

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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, ...

Denver Looks to Sewers, Geothermal Wells for Downtown Energy Network

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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 ...

Huge £500m retrofit bonanza for universities

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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

As geothermal networks grow, so does the call for a new utility model

By District Energy posted 8 days ago
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 ...

Storing renewables with compressed air in urban heating pipeline

By District Energy posted 10 days ago
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