Commercial and Multi-institutional District Heating Systems in North America

District heating systems fall into two general categories. Those that are owned by and serve the buildings of a single entity are categorized as an institutional system. All others fall into the commercial category, which are listed here by ownership structure. Included are the thermal media used (steam/hot water) and the original service date of the system. Histories of each system and details of current operation, including maps, will be added soon.

District Heating systems operated as an integral part of an investor-owned electric utility. All use cogeneration, unless otherwise noted:

• Public Service Company of Colorado, Denver, Colorado. Steam, 5 November 1880.
• Consolidated Edison, New York (Manhattan), New York. Steam, March 1882.
• Iowa Electric Light and Power Company, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Steam, 11 October 1892.
• St. Joseph Light and Power Co., St. Joseph, Missouri. Steam, before 1900.
• Alabama Power Company, Birmingham, Alabama. Steam, 1902.
• Detroit Edison, Detroit, Michigan. Steam, 1903.
• Dayton Power and Light Co., Dayton, Ohio. Steam, about 1905. (System abandoned?)
• Wisconsin Electric Power Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Steam, 1907.
• Commonwealth Energy Steam Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Steam, 1912. Customers include Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital.
• Advanced Energy Systems, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Thermal Energies, Inc., New Haven, Connecticut

District heating systems owned by companies owning multiple systems.

• Trigen Energy Corporation
  • Trigen Boston Energy Corporation. Steam, 1887.
  • Trigen Kansas City Energy Corporation. Steam, 1889.
  • Trigen Philadelphia Energy Corporation. Steam, 1889.
  • Trigen St. Louis Energy Corporation. Steam, 1904.
  • Trigen Baltimore Energy Corporation. Steam, 1911.
  • Trigen Nassau Energy Corporation, Garden City, Long Island, New York, Hot water, chilled water.
  • Trigen Trenton Energy Corporation. Trenton, NJ.
  • Trigen Oklahoma City Energy Corporation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
  • Trigen Tulsa Energy Corporation, Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • Trigen London Energy Corporation, London, Ontario
• Thermal Ventures, Inc.
  • Akron Thermal, Akron, Ohio.
• Pacific Energy/Central Plants
  • Bunker Hill, Los Angeles
  • Century City, Los Angeles
  • College Park/Fullerton, Fullerton
  • Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim
  • McDonnell Douglas, Huntington Beach
• NRG Thermal
  • Minneapolis Energy Center, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • NRG Energy, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • NRG Energy Center San Francisco
  • NRG Energy Center Pittsburgh
  • NRG Energy Center Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Steam, 1886.

District heating systems independently owned.

• District Energy St. Paul, St. Paul, Minnesota, Hot and chilled water system.
• Seattle Steam Corporation, Seattle, Washington. Steam, 1889.
• Community Central Energy Corporation, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steam, hot water, and chilled water, 1893. Supplies heating and cooling for the Steamtown National Historic Site.
• Concord Steam Corporation, Concord, New Hampshire. Steam.
• Energy Networks, Inc., Hartford, Connecticut. Hot water, chilled water, 1962.
• Energy Systems Company, Omaha, Nebraska. Steam, chilled water.
• Metro Nashville District Energy System, Nashville, Tennessee
• Enwave, Toronto, Ontario
• Central Heat Distribution, Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia
• Citizens Thermal Energy, Indianapolis, Indiana

Municipally-owned district heating systems

• Boise, Idaho, Geothermal hot water, 1892
• San Bernadino, California, Geothermal hot water
• Lansing, Michigan, Steam
• Kent County, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Jamestown, New York, Hot water. 1985
• Buffalo, New York, Hot water and steam, March 1987.
• Virginia, Minnesota, Steam, 1905.
• Hibbing Public Utilities, Hibbing, Minnesota, Steam
• Eugene, Oregon
• Fairbanks, Alaska
• Harrisonburg, Virginia. Provides heating and cooling to James Madison University from waste to energy plant.
• Holyoke, Massachusetts. Steam, 1937.
• Piqua, Ohio
• New Ulm, Minnesota
• Fairmont, Minnesota

Cooperatively-owned district heating systems

• Rochester District Heating Cooperative, Rochester, New York, Steam, 1889
• Duluth Steam Cooperative Association, Duluth, Minnesota, Steam, 1889
• PACT, Ltd., Pittsburgh
• Texas Steam Cooperative, Houston, Texas

District heating systems owned by multiple institutions.

• Bellefield Boiler Plant, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Franklin Heating Plant, Rochester, Minnesota

District Heating systems owned by one institution, but supplying thermal energy to others.

• General Services Administration, Washington, D.C. Serves Federal buildings and some others.
• U.S. Capitol Power Plant, Washington, D.C.
• Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
• University of Minnesota (Operated by Foster Wheeler)