LATEST NEWS from STEN
Latest News
November 24, 2025
STEN Held Fourth Quarterly Membership Meeting
Sewer Thermal Energy Network (STEN) has just completed its 4th quarterly meeting of 2025 on
November 19 and we ended the year with a bang. The meeting started with hellos and introductions, then we heard a presentation from Fabian Voswinkel of the
International Energy Agency (IEA). Fabian presented material from their just published 2025 flagship
Energy Efficiency Report. He covered a lot of ground in a short time - it was a little like drinking water from a fire hose. Here is a brief synopsis of the highlights:
As temperatures rise, the pace of cooling is growing the strongest, accounting for 6% building demand by end-use now, going up to 12% by 2050. However heating is still and will remain the largest end-use in buildings. Decarbonization of heating and cooling will have a strong impact on CO2 emissions.
All regions showed an increase in market penetration of AC units, however, for highly industrialized countries this increase was relatively small because those markets are already saturated. However, Korea, China and India showed a large increase in AC penetration, all three at rates above 100% demand growth. That is a lot of electricity.
Data centers account for around 1.5% of global electricity demand, an AI boom may double that by 2030. AI's share of the electrical demand by regions shows a steady increase but in the US it has grown exponentially from 2005 to 2024 - starting at about 1.5% to now about 4.5%. It is clear that the US is investing in AI.
ABOUT STEN: A Commitment to Sustainability
The Sewer Thermal Energy Network is a US based international member-supported 501(c)(6) organization, dedicated to advocacy, education, information dissemination, capacity building, and networking opportunities for industry leaders, municipalities, and wastewater utilities, and academics. We help communities and businesses discover the potential of unused resources with the utilization of freely available heat contained within a sewer system for the heating and cooling of the built environment, from a single building to a whole district.
BECOME A MEMBER of STEN
The increase in data centers represents an opportunity for district energy systems, providers of water (even gray water) and energy efficient heating and cooling. As the demand for electricity increases so does the value of highly efficient building heating and cooling systems. We believe STEN is able to help our members in all three of these areas. As a STEN member, you’ll join a group of the most influential professionals in the industry - leaders and decision makers who are working together to shape the future of sewer heat recovery solutions. Please consider becoming a member of STEN today!
