The global district heating and cooling market is set to reach $US32 billion by 2025.
Countries around the globe are looking at district heating systems to reduce carbon footprints, according to Adroit Market Research.
And while district heating has been adopted extensively in Europe it has had a relatively slow start in Australia.
Overseas it is local councils that are driving the adoption of district heating systems.
For example, Växjö, a city in southern Sweden, has been able to achieve a 17 per cent reduction in emissions in just one year.
The city has a local district heating system that makes up 90 per cent of the city's energy. It was the local council that introduced the system, which is similar to another project that just began in Manchester in the United Kingdom.
Known as the Civic Quarter Heat Network (CQHN), it will generate low-carbon power, heat and hot water for the city, helping Manchester reach its carbon-neutral and zero waste goal by 2038.
Initially, the network will serve six council buildings, including the Town Hall, and save more than 3,100 tonnes of carbon emissions in its first five years of operation.
The energy centre for the network, features five flues forming a sculptural ‘Tower of Light’ which contains a 3.3MWe combined heat and power (CHP) engine and two 12MW gas boilers.
The centre will generate electricity, and harness the recovered heat from this process for distribution via a 2km district heating network, which will supply heat and hot water for the buildings.
Work has just begun on the project which will be completed by the end of 2020.