district energy

What district energy does

District Energy St. Paul is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) district energy utility founded in 1979 that began service in 1983 as one of the first hot water district energy systems in North America. The organization delivers hot water for space heating, domestic hot water, and snow melt, and chilled water for cooling and process applications, to over 200 buildings (heating), 120+ buildings (cooling), and 300 single-family homes across a downtown Saint Paul service territory. Operations are anchored by the Hans O. Nyman Energy Center on Kellogg Boulevard, the St. Paul Cogeneration biomass plant (largest wood-fired CHP facility serving a U.S. district energy system, up to 25 MW electric / 65 MW thermal), a 1.2 MW thermal solar installation, chilled water thermal storage, and—in development—a networked geothermal system at The Heights and the Capital City Thermal Plant.

The underlying system circulates over 1.5 million gallons of water per hour through underground piping, with supply temperatures ranging from 250°F (winter heating) to 38–42°F (cooling). Up to 50% of annual heat production comes from renewable sources (biomass and solar thermal), and the system has achieved 99.99%+ reliability since inception while reducing its own carbon emissions 78% between 2000 and 2024.

Revenue is generated under a cost-based non-profit utility model: customers pay monthly demand charges ($6.44/kW/month for heating, $34.19/ton/month for cooling in FY2025) plus energy charges ($28.73/MWh heating, $0.093/ton-hour cooling), with electricity from biomass sold to Xcel Energy under a power purchase agreement extended through May 2028. FY2025 operating revenue was $39.7M, up from $36.7M in FY2024. The franchise agreement with the City of Saint Paul extends to 2033, and the company carries an S&P A- rating. Distribution is direct-to-building via the proprietary pipe network, managed by a senior account management team under VP of Business Development Steve Rambeck.

Name

district energy

Legal name

District Energy St. Paul

Website

https://districtenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Short description

District Energy St. Paul is a nonprofit district energy utility supplying heating, cooling, snow melt, and process energy via underground hot and chilled water pipes to 200+ heating buildings, 120+ cooling buildings, and 300 homes in downtown Saint Paul.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

District Energy Utility Services

NAICS

Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply (221330), Electric Power Generation (22111)

SIC

Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991), Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

District Energy & CHP-Based Microgrids (Thermal Networks + Power) (EUACALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

C&I Onsite/Behind-the-Meter Energy Supply (Solar, CHP, Microgrids) (EUAGACAJ), Chillers, Boilers & Central Plant Operations (BPABACAG)

Keywords

• District heating services
• District cooling systems
• Combined heat and power
• Biomass energy generation
• Geothermal energy systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Heating Services Revenue: Non-profit utility model with cost-based rates. Heating service revenue is generated through demand rates ($/kW/month) and energy charges ($/MWh). FY2025 demand rate: $6.44/kW/month; energy charge: $28.73/MWh; overall rate: $21.74/MMBtu. Total operating revenues FY2025: $39,717,813.
2. Cooling Services Revenue: Non-profit utility cooling service revenue through demand rates ($/ton/month) and energy charges ($/ton-hour). FY2025 demand rate: $34.19/ton/month; energy charge: $0.093/ton-hour; overall rate: $0.435/ton-hour. Energy sales: 36,946,462 ton-hours in FY2025.
3. Biomass Power Sales: St. Paul Cogeneration produces up to 25 MW of electricity sold to Xcel Energy under power purchase agreement through May 2028. Biomass is sourced from urban tree waste (storm and disease-damaged trees).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

District Energy St. Paul supplies hot water and chilled water through a proprietary underground pipe network to over 200 buildings for heating and 120+ buildings for cooling in downtown Saint Paul. The service replaces on-site boilers, chillers, water heaters, and cooling towers, supplying HVAC energy, domestic hot water, snow melt, and process heating/cooling. Generation utilizes combined heat and power fueled by biomass (urban tree waste), solar thermal, and chilled water thermal storage, with renewable electricity sold to Xcel Energy under a power purchase agreement through May 2028.

Product overview

District Energy St. Paul operates a district energy system providing heating and cooling services to buildings in downtown Saint Paul. The core offering is Hot Water & Chilled Water Services that replace on-site boilers, chillers, and cooling towers. Supporting products include a Customer Portal for energy data tracking, an Energy Efficiency Program for building optimization, Snow Melt Systems for pavement heating, and innovative projects including Hydrogen-Fueled CHP Demonstration, Capital City Thermal Plant expansion, The Heights Community Energy Geothermal System, and Clean Heat St. Paul waste heat recovery initiative. The system currently heats over 200 buildings and 120 buildings for cooling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hot Water & Chilled Water Services District heating and cooling service delivering hot water (250°F winter, 180°F transition) and chilled water (38-42°F) through underground pipe networks to connected buildings, supplying HVAC energy, domestic hot water, snow melt, and process heating/cooling in place of on-site boilers, chillers, water heaters, and cooling towers.
• Customer Portal Web-based portal providing customers with energy data for tracking building energy use, access to service account information, charting tools, and benchmarking capabilities integrated with Energy Star for City of Saint Paul benchmarking compliance.
• Energy Efficiency Program Formal program helping customers identify and implement projects to improve building performance, save energy, save money, and reduce carbon through screening, project qualification, and resource connection in partnership with City of Saint Paul, Saint Paul Port Authority, and Center for Energy and Environment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.99%+ system reliability for both heating and cooling since service began
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core, minor and supporting.

• Caterpillar Inc.strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Three-year hydrogen CHP pilot project successfully demonstrated a 2.0 MW combined heat and power system with Cat G3516 gas generator set using 100% hydrogen fuel. Hosted at District Energy St. Paul facility in cooperation with DOE and NREL.
• Xcel EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Power purchase agreement extended through May 2028 allowing continued production of biomass-fueled, renewable heating and hot water services. St. Paul Cogeneration sells electricity to Xcel Energy, which uses urban tree waste as renewable fuel.
• Saint Paul Port AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Owner and master developer of The Heights redevelopment project. Collaborates with District Energy on The Heights Community Energy geothermal system. Granted $4.7M MnCIFA loan for geothermal infrastructure at The Heights. Active partner since the project's inception.
• Great River GreeningminorOthers · 1 October 2024Minnesota-based organization dedicated to land restoration and habitat revitalization. District Energy team members volunteered with Great River Greening and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity to plant climate resilient trees at The Heights Community.
• Sherman AssociatesminorOthers · 1 October 2024Housing developer partner for The Heights redevelopment project. One of several notable housing partners developing multi-unit buildings that will be heated and cooled by the geothermal system.
• JO CompaniesminorOthers · 1 October 2024Housing developer partner for The Heights redevelopment project, developing buildings that will be served by the networked geothermal system.
• Twin Cities Habitat for HumanityminorOthers · 1 October 2024Community partner in The Heights redevelopment. 2024 Carter Work Project partner. District Energy team members volunteered with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity for tree planting at The Heights.
• Ever-Green EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEver-Green Energy operates and manages District Energy St. Paul. It is the parent company and provides comprehensive energy system management, engineering, business planning, and community engagement. Ever-Green Energy works across sectors to advance and operate energy systems with deep commitment to financial and environmental stewardship. It operates and manages energy and water systems in California, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
• City of Saint PaulcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing public-private partnership established in 1979. City of Saint Paul provides franchise agreement (extended to 2033) and collaborates on energy initiatives including Clean Heat St. Paul and The Heights Community Energy. Former Mayor George Latimer was the original champion of the district energy system.
• Metropolitan CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClean Heat St. Paul initiative: Metropolitan Council, City of Saint Paul, Xcel Energy, and District Energy collaborating on a proposal to use wastewater from Metropolitan Council's treatment plant for space heating and water heating, potentially decarbonizing the district energy system.
• Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable EnergysupportingOthersPartnered with Caterpillar and District Energy on hydrogen CHP pilot project, providing research support and funding through DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)supportingOthersProvided technical research support for hydrogen CHP demonstration project alongside Caterpillar and DOE.
• Center for Energy and EnvironmentsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram partner in District Energy's energy efficiency program, working to connect customers to programs and resources for building energy improvements.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vicinity Energy: Vicinity Energy operates district energy systems in Boston, Cambridge, Philadelphia, and other U.S. cities, providing steam, hot water, and chilled water to commercial and institutional customers under a similar utility model — making it the closest U.S. direct peer in scale and customer mix.
• Enwave USA: Enwave operates district cooling and heating systems across multiple U.S. and Canadian cities (Atlanta, Houston, Las Vegas, Toronto), directly comparable in technology stack (centralized chillers, thermal distribution) and customer base to District Energy St. Paul.
• Con Edison Steam Operations: Con Edison's steam business distributes steam for heating, hot water, and process use across Manhattan — the largest district steam system in the U.S. — directly comparable as a multi-building thermal distribution utility serving dense urban customers.
• Cordia Energy (formerly NRG Thermal): Cordia Energy operates district thermal systems serving university campuses, healthcare, and commercial customers across the U.S., and was a previous employer of District Energy's new CEO — a directly comparable thermal utility peer.
• Ever-Green Energy: Ever-Green Energy is the parent operator and manager of District Energy St. Paul, and also operates/manages energy and water systems in California, Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin — directly comparable as a district energy developer-operator with overlapping technology stack.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia North America (Regulated Energy Services): Veolia operates district heating and cooling networks across multiple U.S. and Canadian cities as part of a broader environmental services portfolio — comparable in technology and customer model but part of a much larger multinational services company.
• ENGIE North America (District Energy): ENGIE operates district energy systems and thermal networks across North America as part of its broader global utility portfolio, offering directly overlapping capabilities but with much wider geographic and product breadth.
• Clearway Community Energy: Clearway operates community-scale thermal, CHP, and district energy assets across the U.S. and was District Energy's new CEO's prior employer — a broader renewable energy and thermal infrastructure operator with directly overlapping district thermal activities.
• Consolidated Edison Solutions: ConEd's broader regulated utility business, including its district steam operations, provides a comparable model for investor-owned utility thermal services with overlapping capabilities in urban energy distribution and customer-base concentration.

Regional players

• Stockholm Exergi: Stockholm Exergi operates the largest district heating network in the Stockholm region, with comparable biomass-CHP technology and similar urban heating utility economics — a relevant international peer given District Energy's Scandinavian origins.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/energystpaul
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCIEim7TMQ9FRIykPWSYIwUg
• Facebookfacebook.com/DistrictEnergy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about district energy