Edward Baker, Iconic Minneapolis Skyway’s & District Energy

Thermal District heating and cooling systems, commonly called district energy systems (DES), provide heating and cooling to buildings that are connected to and powered by localized utility plants. DES can meet the energy needs of a variety of community sizes in a cost efficient, renewable, and reliable manner. Despite DESs' long history, barriers to their construction exist in many local development codes. Typically, community energy needs are considered late in the planning process and envision the use of a centralized energy utility. Local zoning ordinances may prohibit smaller scale generators from being constructed in particular zones explicitly or, more commonly, implicitly by not including them in permitted uses. Local governments and planners can remove these barriers by addressing energy infrastructure earlier in the development process to ensure that future developments are coordinated to leverage the benefits of DESs. Additionally, local governments can expand opportunities for installation of small scale DESs by amending zoning ordinances to permit construction in residential and commercial zones. DES typically create a closed loop energy system (energy provided to the building is used and then returned to the central energy plant for reuse), thus creating highly efficient systems that eliminate waste experienced with traditional energy systems.

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