Denver’s largest source of emissions is its buildings, which tend to run on fossil fuels. The city is turning to a surprising solution to kick the habit.
DENVER — Like in many American cities, Denver’s largest source of climate pollution is its buildings. Powering, heating, and cooling the city’s skyscrapers takes a lot of fossil fuels.
Now, the city is trying a greener solution. It plans to heat and cool a cluster of large downtown buildings using a combination of water, the heat of the Earth — and sewage.
The Cherokee Boiler House, near downtown Denver, sits at the center of this plan. Despite the mothballed plant’s handsome brick exterior, inside it’s filled with rattling pipes, hazard signs, and cockroach carcasses…