Cleaner Tech
How Sewage Is Helping Along the Energy Transition
Cities, utilities and buildings are increasingly turning to some unlikely renewables to reduce fossil fuel emissions.
In pipes and sewers, wastewater can maintain a temperature of between 50℉ and 68℉ even in the coldest months. That means energy.
Photographer: Gary Hershorn/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
In False Creek, a waterfront community in Vancouver, Canada, the energy being used to heat homes comes from an unlikely source.
Instead of a boiler, each building’s hot water arrives in underground pipes from a city-owned plant—a system called district heating. A growing number of municipalities are incorporating this strategy into their plans to cut fossil fuel consumption, using renewable energy sources such as geothermal or solar instead of oil or natural gas.