WaSTE HEAT WORKING Group

The BUILT Cluster Waste Heat Working Group collaborates on thermal energy, waste heat, and district energy decarbonization solutions for Washington’s built environment.

Members of this group include representatives from Centrio Energy, SHARC Energy, King County Wastewater Treatment Division, McKinstry, Johnston Engineering, dJoule, and UMC. Resources informed by this working group may include –

  • Policy recommendations to incentivize waste heat projects.
  • Strategies to successfully receive federal funding opportunities from the IRL and BIL.
  • Industry best practices on how to collaborate with public and private sector interested parties in implementing waste heat projects.

Interested? The Waste Heat Working Group meets on the first Thursday of each month. Join us here.

Need a primer on Waste Heat Energy? Click here to learn more about the benefits and uses of Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) by BUILT Cluster staffer Lindsay McCormick.

participants

dJoule (pronounced “jewel’) sparks investment in ambitious district energy solutions for industry, institutions, corporations, and campuses that are economically and strategically motivated to decarbonize their core business. We are an energy holding, development, and advisory company with broad expertise in district energy, real estate, and construction. dJoule engages anchor customers and their communities to re-capitalize existing assets and decarbonize.

CenTrio is an industry leading sustainable energy provider, P3 partner, developer, investor, and operator of campus utility and district energy systems across North America. With the largest district energy portfolio in the U.S., CenTrio owns and operates critical utility infrastructures and provides comprehensive energy solutions to university campuses, healthcare systems, cities, and communities.

Johnston Engineering is the PNW region’s only product development engineering firm with true integrated engineering design, analysis, and fabrication.  Our approach of integrated design and analysis ensures the quickest product development cycle with the least number of prototype iterations which saves our customers time and money. We design, fabricate, and deliver your product in a timely manner and at a competitive price.

King County Wastewater Treatment Division protects water quality and prevent water pollution by providing wastewater treatment to 17 cities and 17 local sewer utilities.

McKinstry is a national construction and energy services company dedicated to innovating the waste and climate harm out of the built environment. Through 60 years of collaborative partnerships and an outcomes-driven focus, we have perfected an unrivaled platform of integrated services that remove barriers in the way of achieving decarbonization.

SHARC Energy Systems was founded by a team of technical and engineering professionals with over 100 years of experience in the heating, ventilating and geo-exchange industries. SHARC manufactures, develops and owns thermal energy recovery systems utilizing wastewater heat exchange technology.

UMC solves the complex challenges of built environments and their systems. Originating over 100 years ago to serve the Pacific Northwest as a mechanical contractor, our firm has expanded to a vast range of comprehensive, integrated services, helping clients and partners plan, build, and manage their buildings, facilities or construction projects. As these programs present inherent technical and logistical complexity, we rise to the challenge of removing worry, delay, angst, and confusion, so you can get back to focusing on what you do best.

PROJECTS

Wastewater Energy Recovery in King County

(2022 – Present)

Led by SHARC Energy, the project aims to expand the recovery of energy created by wastewater capture from commercial and residential buildings in King County in Washington.

One objective of the project is to secure a state regulatory definition of waste heat to be included in the state’s definition of clean energy sources. This will allow SHARC and other similar companies to be eligible for Thermal Renewable Energy Credits (T-RECs) and other benefits that come with the state’s clean energy designation. Learn more about SHARC Energy and their proprietary technology here.


District Energy, Deep Lake Water Cooling, and Salmon Habitat Restoration in the Lake Washington Ship Canal

(2022 – Present)

In partnership with dJoule, this project seeks to assess the impact of integrating deep lake water cooling in a district energy system that can simultaneously be used to improve temperature and dissolved oxygen conditions in the Lake Washington Ship Canal (LWSC).  The LWSC is a known thermal barrier that impacts the health and survival of juvenile and adult spawning salmon that pass through it during migration.

Our goal is to establish if shared infrastructure can be configured to reduce energy demand, decarbonize a district energy network, and measurably improve salmon habitat.  For environmental fluid dynamics and deep lake water cooling engineering, our team is seeking the expert support of DSI, Inc. and Makai Ocean Engineering.

LEARN MORE

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