Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Data Centre Waste Heat Expands
Coverage from Enlit World, Great Lakes Now, and others
Articles
5
Latest Article
03/24
Active Days
68
Executive Summary
UK and Great Lakes projects aim to capture data centre waste heat for district heating, cutting gas use and easing grid and water pressures.
- UK data centre capacity is projected to rise to 9.6 GW by 2035 from 2.4 GW today
- The UK article argues captured data centre heat could feed district heating and lower bills
- A feasibility study for Edinburgh found heat costs could be 3-4p per kWh excluding network build costs
- Heat networks can combine waste heat with heat pumps, geothermal, CHP, EfW, and thermal storage
- Heat storage can absorb excess wind and solar power and help balance the grid
- Lansing's Deep Green proposal would send data center waste heat to downtown district heating
- Great Lakes projects face financing gaps, utility access limits, and public skepticism
Quick Facts
- What: Capturing waste heat from data centers for district heating
- Where: UK, Lansing Michigan, St Paul, Toronto, and the Great Lakes
- Why: To cut gas use, reduce emissions, and lower heating costs
- Who: UK officials, data center firms, utilities, and district energy groups
- When: Over the 2020s and into 2035 with some projects in 2025
Coverage Timeline: 68 Days
Featured Article
St. Paul and Lansing explore district heating using recovered wastewater and data center waste heat to reduce natural gas demand and building emissions.
Additional Articles
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A UK-focused analysis explains how expanding data centres, commercial heat pumps, and new heat network regulations could be combined in the 2020s to create national low carbon heating infrastructure.
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Stakeholders in the Great Lakes region advance waste-heat recovery projects to supply district heating and cooling from nuclear cooling water, data centers, and wastewater, citing policy and financing barriers.
Deep Green and Lansing Board of Water and Light seek rezoning approval for a 24 MW Lansing data center to supply heat to district heating, with a March 3 vote in Lansing, Michigan.
Great Lakes waste-heat recovery initiatives target district heating and cooling using wastewater, data centers, and thermal sources, with funding and policy incentives highlighted as critical.