Circulary

Data centers – gigantic sites that host computer data and information systems for businesses and individuals in mainframes and servers – are big producers of so-called waste heat.

This energy, from a site whose primary purpose is not heat production, has traditionally been released into the atmosphere. Technological progress in recent years has allowed us to change perspective: from being waste, this energy is now an opportunity. Recovered and stored, it can heat a building or a whole district.

Through its thermal power plant connected to a heating network, BS | ENERGY, a Veolia subsidiary, supplies electricity and heat to residents of Braunschweig, the second largest city in Lower Saxony.

• Less than 10% of heat loss achieved thanks to low-temperature district heating networks (LTDH), a considerable technical performance
• A 3 km long heat network will supply 4.2 GWh to 600 homes annually
• A €330,000 turnover set to be generated by the waste heat recovery for the site

• Lack of targets into European legislation, national policies and public tenders to encourage the use of renewable energy sources, residual heat and combined heat and power generation technologies in heating networks.
• Lack for simplified authorisation procedures for these type of projects.

This initiative is part of the ReUseHeat project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Energy Efficiency programme.

Kamila Waciega

+33(0)6 34 50 12 83

kamila.waciega@veolia.com