The City is moving swiftly to build a new district energy system in the heart of the downtown. District energy systems distributes thermal energy across a network, heating or cooling interior areas and hot water in buildings. Terasen Gas has a great interactive visualization of how it works on their website.

The District Energy system will be initially tied into the new City Hall and under construction Library. Private developers could choose to connect to the network in the future. It is expected to utilize ground source heat exchange, or geothermal energy, to power the system. Staff are expected to pursue possible district energy system in the King George and Gateway nodes of downtown, as well as fast developing Grandview Heights and Campbell Heights in South Surrey.

A district energy system has been in operation in North Vancouver since 2004 in the Lonsdale area, serving 20 different buildings in the neighbourhood. Smaller systems exist at the Olympic Village in Vancouver and Dockside Green in Victoria.