Con Edison designs New York’s first utility thermal energy network serving NYCHA housing
Con Edison has developed the Chelsea Utility Thermal Energy Network (UTEN) pilot to provide fossil fuel-free heating, cooling, and domestic hot water for three New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings in Manhattan. The project captures waste heat from a nearby commercial building at 85 10th Avenue and distributes it through a shared water-loop network using water-source heat pumps. The pilot demonstrates how utilities can own and operate neighborhood-scale thermal infrastructure while protecting customers and reducing greenhouse gas emissions!
Key Findings
Key Metrics
Challenge/Opportunity
New York needed a practical pathway for gas utilities to support building decarbonization while maintaining affordability, customer protection, and reliability. The pilot also required engineering solutions for dense urban infrastructure, coordination among multiple property owners, and regulatory approval under New York’s Utility Thermal Energy Network legislation.
Solution
Con Edison designed a shared thermal energy network that captures excess heat from a commercial office building and delivers heating, cooling, and domestic hot water to nearby NYCHA buildings through underground piping and distributed water-source heat pumps. The Stage 2 filing includes detailed engineering, customer protection measures, construction planning, and operational protocols to support regulatory approval and future expansion.
Results
The Chelsea pilot establishes one of the first utility-owned thermal energy network demonstrations in the United States. It provides a framework for customer protections, engineering standards, utility ownership, and integration of waste heat resources that can be replicated across other urban neighborhoods if approved by regulators.
Lessons Learned
- Existing waste heat sources can become valuable community thermal resources.
- Utility ownership can simplify customer participation and long-term operation.
- Customer protection planning is critical for regulatory approval.
- Thermal networks can support affordable housing decarbonization.
- Dense urban environments require careful engineering and stakeholder coordination.
- Utility thermal networks create a repeatable model for future neighborhood-scale deployment.
