| History of District Heating in the United States | District Heating Studies |
District Heating Summary Document (pdf)
This list shows the ownership of the 67 commercial district heating systems currently operating in the United States.
This list is a work in progress and based on the best available evidence, please send any updates or corrections to me at: m.pierce@rochester.edu .
| Independently
Owned District Heating Systems (25) |
|||||
| City | State | Current Owner | Built | Bought by current owner | Notes |
| St.
Paul (1) |
MN | District Energy St. Paul | 1880 | 1981 | |
| Indianapolis | IN | Citizens Thermal | 1889 | 2000 | |
| Greece | NY | RED-Rochester LLC | 1891 | 2013 | Former Kodak Park Power Plant |
| Boise | ID | Boise Warm Springs Water District | 1892 | 1974 | Geothermal |
| Rochester | NY | Rochester District Heating Cooperative | 1894 |
1985 |
|
| Cleveland |
OH |
Corix Cleveland Thermal |
1900 |
2015 |
|
| Youngstown | OH | SOBE Thermal Energy Systems LLC | 1900 | 2019 | Currently in receivership (February 2026) |
| Detroit | MI | Detroit Thermal | 1903 | 2014 | |
| Fairbanks | AK | Aurora Energy | 1905 | 1998 | |
| Boston | MA | MATEP | 1907 | 2018 | MATEP is operated by ENGIE North America in partnership with Axium Infrastructure. |
| Pittsburgh | OH | Bellefield Boiler Plant | 1907 | Bellefield Boiler Plant (1967
article) |
|
| Rochester | MN | Franklin Heating Station | 1927 | The Story of Franklin Station (1974
article) |
|
| Duluth | MN | Duluth Steam Cooperative | 1932 | 1968 | Operated by Duluth Energy Systems |
| Cleveland | OH | Medical Center Company | 1932 | ||
| Hartford (2) |
CT | Hartford Steam Company | 1962 | Hartford Gas Company |
|
| Gates | NY | Rochester Technology Park Utility Company | 1967 | 2002 | Former Kodak Elmgrove Facility |
| Houston | TX | Thermal Energy Corporation | 1969 | 1978 | Houston Natural Gas 1968 article about this plant. |
| Philip | SD | Philip Geothermal Corporation | 1981 | Geothermal | |
| Elko | NV | Elko Heat Company | 1982 | Geothermal | |
| St. Paul (2) | MN | Energy Park Utility Company | 1993 | ||
| Rochester | MN | Olmstead County District Energy System | 1987 | ||
| Minneapolis | MN | Hennepin County Energy Center | 1987 | ||
| Hartford (3) | CT | Capitol Area System | 1988 | Owned by State of Connecticut | |
| Lincoln | NE | District Energy Corporation | 1991 | Industrial heat pumps using sewage plant effluent |
|
| Atlantic City | NJ | Midtown Thermal Control Center | 1997 | 2016 | |
| District
Heating Systems Owned by Municipalities (18) |
|||||
| City | State | Current Owner | Built | Bought by current owner | Notes |
| Lansing | MI | Lansing Board of Water and Light | 1901 | 1919 | |
| St. Louis | MO | City of St.Louis | 1911 | 2017 | Plant owns by Centerstream |
| New Ulm | MN | New Ulm Public Utilities | 1916 | 1923 | |
| Virginia | MN | Virginia Public Utilities | 1919 | To be shut down in October 2026 | |
| Hibbing | MN | Hibbing Public Utilities | 1922 | ||
| Akron | OH | City of Akron | 1927 | 1979 | Operated by Akron Energy Systems |
| Manitowoc | WI | Manitowoc Public Utilities | 1945 | ||
| Tuscon | AZ | City of Tucson | 1968 | Operated by Cordia Thermal | |
| Nashville | TN | Metro Nashville District Energy | 1974 | ||
| Susanville | CA | City of Susanville | 1982 | Geothermal | |
| Pagosa Springs | CO | City of Pagosa Springs | 1982 | Geothermal | |
| Boise | ID | City of Boise | 1983 | 1988 | Geothermal |
| Jamestown | NY | Board of Public Utilities | 1984 | ||
| San Bernadino | CA | City of San Bernadino | 1984 | Geothermal | |
| Buffalo | NY | City of Buffalo | 1987 | ||
| Klamath Falls | OR | City of Klamath Falls | 1991 | Geothermal | |
| Montpelier | VT | City of Montpelier | 2014 | Heat bought from State Capital Complex | |
| West Union | IA | City of West Union | 2013 | West Union District Energy geothermal with heat pumps | |
| District
Heating Systems Owned by Investor-owned Electric Utilities (4) |
|||||
| City | State | Current Owner | Built | Bought by current owner | Notes |
| Denver | CO | Xcel Energy | 1880 | 1909 | |
| New York City | NY | Con Ed | 1882 | 1954 | |
| Milwaukee | WI | WE Energies | 1891 | 1897 | |
| District Heating Systems Owned by Cordia Energy (6) | |||||
| City | State | Current Owner | Built | Bought by current owner | Notes |
| Harrisburg | PA | Cordia Energy | 1887 | 2022 | |
| Omaha | NE | Cordia Energy | 1907 | 2022 | 1967 Northern Natural Gas |
| San Francisco | CA | Cordia Energy | 1910 | 2022 | |
| Pittsburgh | PA | Cordia Energy | 1912 | 2022 | Former Pittsburgh
Allegheny County Thermal |
| Minneapolis | MN | Cordia Energy | 1927 | 2022 | 1972 Minnegasco |
| Pittsburgh | PA | Cordia Energy | 1966 | 2022 | Pittsburgh North Shore (former Equitable Gas Energy) |
| District Heating Systems Owned by CenTrio Energy (5) | |||||
| City | State | Current Owner | Built | Bought by current owner | Notes |
| Seattle |
WA |
CenTrio Energy | 1890 |
2021 |
|
| Los Angeles Century City |
CA |
CenTrio Energy | 1966 |
2021 | |
| Los Angeles Bunker Hill |
CA |
CenTrio Energy | 1966 |
2021 | |
| Houston |
TX |
CenTrio Energy | 1999 |
2021 | Northwind Houston;
Unicom Thermal Technologies |
| New
Orleans |
LA |
CenTrio Energy | 2000 |
2021 | |
| District Heating Systems Owned by Vicinity Energy (10) | |||||
| City | State | Current Owner | Built | Bought by current owner | Notes |
| Boston | MA | Vicinity Energy | 1887 | 2019 | |
| Kansas City | MO | Vicinity Energy | 1889 | 2019 | |
| Philadelphia | PA | Vicinity Energy | 1890 | 2019 | |
| Grand Rapids | MI | Vicinity Energy | 1897 | 2019 | |
| Baltimore | MD | Vicinity Energy | 1903 | 2019 | |
| Cambridge | MA | Vicinity Energy | 1914 | 2019 | |
| Washington Watergate | DC | Vicinity Energy | 1965 | 2019 | Washington Gas Light |
| Tulsa | OK | Vicinity Energy | 1970 | 2019 | Oklahoma Natural Gas Company |
| Oklahoma City | OK | Vicinity Energy | 1971 | 2019 | Oklahoma Natural Gas Company |
| Trenton | NJ | Vicinity Energy | 1983 | 2019 | |
© 2026 Morris A. Pierce