Two apartment buildings in the Bronx will soon get their heating, cooling and hot water from wastewater and geothermal energy. No more money down the drain, literally!

The first proposed combined wastewater energy transfer (WET) and geothermal system in the world, the renewable energy system will utilize thermal energy transfer from geothermal energy and energy captured through wastewater flowing through pipes to provide 100% of the heating, hot water and cooling load for Amalgamated Housing Cooperative’s 316 affordable housing units in two 20-story multi-family towers. The project’s goal is to reduce Tower I and Tower II’s energy usage from a site energy use index (EUI) of 111.5 to 40, representing a decrease of 2,741 carbon tons to zero. Currently, the housing cooperative towers use steam heat that runs on fossil fuels.