A redevelopment project in Denver has turned a long-standing infrastructure headache into a clean energy win.
While building a massive event and education hub near the river, planners faced two existing sewer pipes, each about 6 feet wide, that could not be buried because the wastewater needed to release heat before discharge.
Instead of hiding the problem, engineers chose to use it. The result is a system that now heats and cools major parts of the National Western Center, showing how energy hiding in plain sight can power modern buildings.
From sewer constraint to campus-scale energy source
The solution now serves classrooms, an equestrian center, and a veterinary hospital at the National Western Center complex. Heat captured from sewage provides most of the site’s heating and cooling needs. Only during extreme heat or cold do cooling towers and boilers step in to support the system…