Denver plans to heat and cool a cluster of downtown buildings with a system using water, geothermal energy and even heat from ... sewage.Aaron Ontiveroz/Denver Post via Getty Imageshide caption

NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about how communities aremoving forward on climate solutionsdespite significant political headwinds. As the federal government halts plans to address climate change, states, cities, regions, and even neighborhoods are trying to fill the gap by cutting climate pollution and adapting to extreme weather.

DENVER — Like in many American cities, Denver's largest source of climate pollution is its buildings. Powering, heating and cooling the city's skyscrapers takes a lot of fossil fuels.

Now, the city is trying a greener solution. It plans to heat and cool a cluster of large downtown buildings using a combination of water, the heat of the Earth — and sewage.

The Cherokee Boiler House, near downtown Denver, sits at the center of this plan. Despite the mothballed plant's handsome brick exterior, inside it's filled with rattling pipes, hazard signs and cockroach carcasses.

"It looks like a good place for a rave or potentially a horror movie," says Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.

But the city sees potential in this relic. City officials think it could play a starring role in Denver'sgoal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040— and save taxpayer dollars in the process.

"We think we are standing in what can be the future of energy in Denver, which is both pollution free and affordable," Johnston says.

Denver will pilot what's called a thermal energy network.Similar networksalready exist oncampusesand in some cities around the world. If it works here, it could set an example for how to decarbonize a dense, downtown core in the United States.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston tours the Cherokee Boiler House, near downtown Denver. "We think we are standing in what can be the future of energy in Denver, which is both pollution free and affordable," Johnston says.McKenzie Lange/CPR Newshide caption

Source: Drudge Report