IDEA 2027 - International District Energy Association

The International District Energy Association's Annual Conference, typically held in June, has a broader international scope and brings together leaders from across the industry working on larger-scale district energy systems. The program highlights innovative projects from cities and communities around the world, with sessions focused on downtown district energy networks, new developments, regulatory frameworks, financing models, and emerging technologies. Key topics include opportunities to integrate electricity and thermal networks; pathways for migrating to low carbon district energy; microgrids for reliability, redundancy, and resiliency; geothermal and geo-exchange district energy systems; net zero and near zero communities and climate action plans; data centers and district energy; smart growth and transit-oriented district energy and microgrids; greenfield and brownfield district energy developments; de-carbonizing communities with district energy; extending district energy systems by connecting with neighbors; energy procurement strategies and public/private partnerships; emerging business models; system optimization, expansion, modernization and renewal; district energy and CHP case studies; future fuels such as biomass, biofuels, and recycled/recovered heat; district cooling, thermal energy storage and turbine inlet air cooling; district energy and LEED for campuses and communities; integrating renewables with district energy/CHP; and energy/water nexus, water resource conservation and optimization strategies.