Canals at the Venetian Las Vegas among the things heated by a district heating system (Photo: Marit & Toomis Hinnosaar)

Largest district energy provider in the U.S. signs-on with biggest resort-casino-hotel in the world

Maybe Las Vegas isn't known for its efficiency and attention to sustainability; or maybe it is. The world’s largest resort-hotel-casino, the Venetian Las Vegas has renewed its relationship with Veolia Energy to provide district heating services for the massive hotel for another ten years.  Veolia Energy North America maintains the largest portfolio of district energy networks in the U.S.

Now before you quickly scoff at the idea of anything in Las Vegas possibly being built with sustainability in mind (and I also harbor those feelings at times), district heating allows buildings to work in concert, taking advantage of scale and proximity, to produce heat loss reductions of up to 35% of previous levels by use. And when you've got a property with four thousands rooms and over two million square feet of convention space, energy savings of 35% can really add up.

“In one of the most energy intensive cities in the world, we are proud to work with a Las Vegas icon to optimize its energy use for the benefit of Las Vegas residents and visitors alike," said Hal Falter, General Manager of Veolia Energy’s Las Vegas Operations.

The Venetian was one of the first Las Vegas luxury resorts to outsource the operations and maintenance of its energy infrastructure. Since 1999, the Veolia team in Las Vegas has operated and maintained the resort’s central plant and the hotel’s HVAC equipment to optimize the use of both chilled water and steam production to minimize energy use. Veolia Energy also maintains the pumps, heat exchangers and filtration systems for the resort’s pools, fountains, domestic hot water and comfort heating.

District heating projects like the one at the Venetian can act as templates for future projects in cities that have yet to develop their energy infrastructure, particularly those in the developing world.

Image: Marit & Toomis Hinnosaar via flickr under a Creative Commons License