Waste to resource: a new thermal recovery system using wastewater to heat buildings.

"Alexandria, a leading owner, operator and developer of collaborative research campuses, has long been a leader in sustainability," said Eleni Reed, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. "Our South Lake Union Energy District will showcase our innovative approach to decarbonizing our laboratory buildings. This large scale wastewater heat recovery system will provide an alternative energy source to heat our buildings and improve their sustainability and operational efficiency.".

The system was developed by SHARC Energy of British Columbia and can be used for both heating and cooling. It is expected that''King County's sewer heating system will reduce carbon emissions by 99 percent compared to a typical lab building in Seattle.

Recognizing the untapped benefits of recovering heat from wastewater, the King County Council authorized the Division of Wastewater Treatment to launch a pilot program, and the Division began accepting applications for three commercial user slots in 2020. Alexandria was the first project to move forward with the installation of the system. There are two spots left in the pilot program.

The project reached a major milestone this summer when crews with contracted McKinstry cut and connected the original brick sewer line of the County's main sewer channel to the Alexandria system, proving that''Such a system can be installed in dense urban areas. Already used in countries such as Canada, Germany and Japan, wastewater heat recovery is an affordable renewable energy alternative to traditional methods of heating and cooling buildings.

King County is encouraging other commercial properties to apply for the two remaining spots in the pilot program. Users pay King County the costs associated with project review and a usage fee of one-half cent per ton-hour of energy transferred after the first three years of service. Benefits to commercial users: reduced energy costs; contribution to green building certification; financial support such as the C-PACER' program's sustainable and renewable energy sources for heating and cooling, King County is thereby easing the transition of commercial buildings to green energy.

"As a leading owner, operator and developer of collaborative research campuses, Alexandria has long been a leader in sustainability. Our South Lake Union Energy District demonstrates our innovative approach to decarbonizing our laboratory buildings. This large scale wastewater heat recovery system will provide an alternative energy source to heat our buildings and improve their sustainability and operational efficiency. "

"The partnership between King County and Alexandria represents a feasible model that can be used nationwide to electrify and decarbonize building heating and cooling while reducing''energy costs, reducing potable water use in cooling systems, creating a green economy and helping to meet federal, state and county climate goals. "

"McKinstry is proud to be a trusted design-build partner working to realize Alexandria's vision for the project, including the creation of a heating and cooling system that puts the project on the map as one of the largest wastewater heat recovery systems in North America. The new campus creates more than 5,200 construction jobs for our local economy and strengthens the green economy of the Puget Sound's breadth.".