I read an interesting article about the largest thermal solar project in the upper Midwest, now atop the RiverCenter in downtown Saint Paul. The project was funded by federal funds and matched by District Energy St. Paul, which "operates the largest, most successful, hot water district heating system in North America". The company provides 80% of the heating and hot water needs to downtown St. Paul public and commercial buildings. The system covers 1,950 square meters of rooftop with 144 collectors and a capacity of 1MW.
Upon further reading the main heat source for the downtown area comes from a combined heat and power (CHP or cogeneration) plant utilizing urban wood residue. Not only does the plant produce clean electricity but it uses residual heat to provide hot water/ heating needs for the surrounding downtown area. District heating has played a huge role in reducing long term energy needs in Northern European cities for a while. Moving away from individual boiler systems producing heat/hot water for a specific building and moving it to a centralized location supplying heating for an entire area. "When adjusted for inflation, District Energy customers pay less for heating today than they did 25 years ago when service began." "Operation of the CHP plant has reduced District Energy’s reliance on coal by about 70%."
http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=501
It is no surprise to me that St. Paul is leading North America in this area, we have lots of urban wood, smart folk and most importantly we love our city and its future success.
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