Innovating in 2025 and Beyond:
An Outlook on District Energy from IDEA Members
The future of energy is shifting in many dimensions. From rapidly rising demand to aging infrastructure, energy systems around the world are moving to adapt scalable solutions that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. District energy is uniquely poised to meet these demands head-on, with a track record of steady evolution and innovation. Read on for our members' thoughts.
District energy systems have been providing heating, cooling and energy for cities in some form since the Roman Empire, but modern systems have been around for nearly 150 years. There are many differences between the district energy systems that were built during the Industrial Revolution to curb air pollution in large cities, and the modern low-carbon infrastructure pulsing through major cities today. Since 1909, IDEA and its members have seen the global population grow from around two billion people to over eight billion people in 2025, with over 80 cities worldwide that individually have populations that exceed five million. Clearly, solving pressing climate challenges requires focusing on the energy demand of cities.
Continuous innovation is central to the evolution and longevity of district energy in cities. As it has transitioned from 19th century coal-fired stations to 21st century renewable energy aggregators, district energy has emerged as a critical component of decarbonization and demand management strategies for cities, communities and campuses. Aggregating the energy needs of dozens or even hundreds of buildings creates economies of scale that enable investment in lower-carbon solutions. District energy industry participants share a common mission to inform, connect and advance innovations to accelerate the energy transition. We are pleased to share their thoughts on the path forward.
Thinking Inside the System: Decarbonizing with District Energy
Aggregation is the backbone of district energy systems, pooling the heating, cooling and power needs of multiple buildings and addressing those needs from a central location. This approach has allowed district energy systems to continuously adapt over many decades of operation, powering some systems with traditional fuels and others with groundbreaking renewable energy technology. Centralizing energy production and distribution is efficient, cost-effective and facilitates the integration of diverse energy sources—often helping older buildings meet modern efficiency standards and carbon reduction goals.
“District energy is the fastest way that we can reduce our energy use, be more efficient and decarbonize at an urban scale,” says David Woodson, the Executive Director of Campus Energy, Utilities and Operations at the University of Washington. The University’s multiple campuses he manages, along with many other campuses, have relied on its district energy system’s ability to seamlessly swap the energy sources that power it to meet ambitious institutional goals to reduce fossil fuel consumption. David and many other leaders see district energy systems as an essential tool to advance the energy transition and drive decarbonization.
One of these leaders is Earl Collins, the CEO of Cordia, who is confident that “district energy companies can really work together towards creating sustainable energy solutions and being part of the energy transition.” District energy systems are also helping to enable sector-coupling with electric and natural gas utilities to reduce demand on power grids and provide a transition framework for natural gas systems.
“We've seen an uptick in geothermal pilot projects in the Northeast with private utilities,” says Jacky Kinson, a Mechanical Engineer at CDM Smith. “We've been working with them to find a new business model to be able to use these thermal energy networks to combine loads from all different sorts of existing customers and transition them from fossil fuel and natural gas that usually heats and cools their homes to renewable energy using the power of geothermal.”
Decarbonization and the transition to renewable energy sources is a marathon, not a sprint, and as Earl says, “We need to work together as an industry for policy change, for funding, for research—all of these come together and help us to reach common goals.” The district energy community clearly believes that their industry is ready to run that race.
A Load of Hot Air: Putting Excess Heat from Data Centers to Good Use
In 2025, conversations around data centers are inescapable, and one of the most common topics is the incredible scale of the energy that they require to operate. Data center demand is not abating, and many leaders in the district energy space see huge potential.
“I think the biggest opportunity going forward is at data centers,” says Ted Borer, President of Borer Energy Engineering. “We should build them in the most efficient way we can and exploit the waste heat, not throw that waste heat away. And I think there's a huge, huge opportunity as we build data centers to put a synergistic industry or a synergistic process right next to [them].”
Data center energy demand is so significant that developers have to consider the resilience and scale of power available. Some are seeking firm power supply from contiguous generation sources or co-locating with CHP on power park campuses. Some data centers source all of their electricity from renewables. Large server decks then convert green electricity into data bits and volumes of low temperature heat. District energy innovators like Ted, who also served as the Director of Energy Plants at Princeton University for over 30 years, want to put that heat to good use: “Let's not reject all that heat through a cooling tower. Let's find a way to connect that to a district energy network and what was once heat wasted by a data center could now be heating an entire town. That would be incredible.”
Projects around the world are already finding success in waste heat recovery, and new developments are regularly emerging. Earl Collins is not only optimistic about district energy’s ability to drive decarbonization, but also in the industry’s knack for innovation, saying, “What this group is really good at is taking thermal energy and figuring out how to use that in our systems. I think a great opportunity for district energy companies is to learn how to work with data centers and other industrial customers that have waste products like heat that we can use within our systems.”
Getting the Word Out: Opportunities to Expand District Energy
District energy is well-equipped to drive decarbonization and harness the power of data center development. But it faces an uphill battle that has nothing to do with technology. While district energy is, by many accounts, one of the most efficient ways to cut carbon emissions at scale, the systems themselves are usually hiding in plain sight. You might see wind turbines while driving on the highway, or solar panels on top of your local grocery store, but district energy systems are primarily underground, resulting in a general lack of awareness about the technology—even when it is powering buildings people live and work in every day!
Younger members of the district energy industry see promoting understanding as an avenue to widespread adoption. Megan Campbell, a Mechanical Engineer at SmithGroup and one of the recipients of the inaugural IDEA Patti Wilson Leadership Award, thinks that “getting the word out there” and promoting district energy is the first step.
“I think a lot of colleges and universities have been effective about raising awareness of district energy on their campuses, but I'd love to see that happen in more cities,” says Megan. “Boston is a great example; they've done a great job in recognizing the value of a robust district energy system. But we can do more in other cities and other cold climates, I think we can really all work together to further district energy. I'm excited to see where district energy goes and the new solutions that people come up with.”
For those outside of the industry who have heard of district energy, their understanding might be limited to its history or think of it as an older technology. Reframing that knowledge and layering on the adaptability that has kept district energy technology relevant for decades could help bring district energy into more widespread conversation surrounding the energy transition.
“It's just been incredible to see the kind of evolution that we're seeing in technology and applications of technology,” says Jenae Batt, Director of Marketing at Ever-Green Energy. “There are several existing district energy systems that are actively evaluating renewal options, and so I think in the next few years, we're really going to see those systems reinvest and rebuild, and hopefully in ways that are reducing our carbon footprint. In addition to reinvestment in legacy systems, I think we'll also see new systems come online, as district energy is increasingly understood to be a solution for decarbonizing our communities.”
Staying Focused on the Mission: Working Together for a Common Goal
“The reason that we have associations like IDEA is because we can't do it all by ourselves,” says Lalit Agarwal, CEO of APPA, an association for facilities professionals. “It takes a village, literally, and IDEA creates that atmosphere. It creates that opportunity for people to collaborate and really work together to find solutions to the problems that we face.”
Among all of IDEA’s members, this sentiment shared by Lalit comes through clearly. Since 1909, IDEA (under a few different names) has been district energy’s biggest advocate and unifying force. Undoubtedly, what will drive another century of aggregation, integration and innovation will be the people that make up the IDEA community. The spirit of collaboration and camaraderie runs deep.
“I think obviously we still have a lot of work to do,” says Rob Thornton, President and CEO of IDEA. “But it feels like the members of our industry are engaged in working together. Our business partners provide insight on innovative technologies and our member systems willingly share solutions and experiences and how they manage process improvement. As an example, IDEA produces District Energy Space every year to demonstrate the growth in customers, both in numbers of buildings connected and their respective square feet as individual buildings and in the aggregate. Since we began in 1992, collectively we have recorded nearly 3 billion total square feet of new customers added, averaging about 52 million square feet per year in North America.”
The success of district energy comes from its adaptability, and the understanding that success is measured in decades. Michael Ahern, Senior Vice President of System Development at Ever-Green Energy, advised the district energy community to trust in the expertise of themselves and their peers, saying:
“Don't let the external noise affect a good decision. Especially when you're looking over that 20-, 30-, 50-year time horizon, it’s important to stay focused on the mission. The advantage of district energy is its ability to adapt over time and continuously evolve.”