Shared energy infrastructure will support Utah City’s transformation from former industrial site to a vibrant mixed-use destination.
Corix and Utah City Partners celebrated the opening of the Utah City Energy Center yesterday, marking a major infrastructure milestone for Utah City, one of North America’s most ambitious master-planned communities.
Once home to the historic Geneva Steel plant, one of the American West’s largest steelmaking operations, the site is being reimagined as a vibrant, walkable mixed-use hub. The opening of the Utah City Energy Center marks an important step in that evolution, replacing an era of heavy industry with modern energy infrastructure designed to support a new generation of growth.
“Energy has always been at the heart of this site,” said Lisa Sparrow, President & CEO of Corix. “What’s changed is what that energy is enabling. Where infrastructure once powered industry, the Utah City Energy Center is now laying the foundation for a new kind of community. We’re proud to be part of that transformation.”
The ribbon-cutting marks the transition of Utah City’s district energy system from construction to operations. The Energy Center serves as the backbone of a shared heating and cooling network providing efficient, reliable, and scalable energy infrastructure that can expand as the development takes shape.
Building for a Region on the Rise
The transformation reflects the bold vision behind Utah City, a new model for community development in one of Utah’s fastest-growing regions. Located in Vineyard, Utah City is being developed as a walkable, transit-oriented “10-minute city,” where residents can live, work, shop, receive care, and connect within a thoughtfully planned mixed-use destination.
“From the beginning, our vision for Utah City has been to create a community built for the future,” said Craig Cannon, Utah City Partner. “That means investing in infrastructure that is efficient, scalable, and designed to serve generations to come. Corix’s district energy system provides a reliable, cost-effective solution that will grow alongside the community while helping preserve the quality of life and natural beauty that make Utah such a special place.”
At the heart of that vision is the Energy Center, which supplies heating and cooling through a shared network of underground pipes. Rather than each building installing and maintaining its own equipment, district energy centralizes energy production and distribution, creating a more coordinated and efficient approach to serving the community. Over the life of the project, the system is expected to eliminate the need for more than 17,000 individual hot water heaters and HVAC units, simplifying long-term operations and maintenance.
Using a phased, modular approach, the system can expand as new buildings come online, avoiding unnecessary upfront investment while maintaining flexibility for future growth and technology integration. Future phases will incorporate waste heat recovery and other energy sources to further enhance efficiency and advance the community’s sustainability goals. Additional interconnected energy centers will be added over time, strengthening reliability and resiliency across the network.
An Innovative Approach to Project Delivery
To keep pace with Utah City’s rapid development, the Energy Center was fabricated off-site while underground piping, building connections, and site preparation advanced simultaneously in Utah.
Once delivered, the modular Energy Center was installed in a single day, accelerating construction and enabling critical energy infrastructure to come online quickly. The system is forecast to have 60 MWt of heating capacity and 80 MWt of cooling capacity, while reducing peak electricity demand by more than 70 MW, the equivalent of removing the electrical load of a small city from the grid during periods of highest demand. This helps ease pressure on regional electrical infrastructure while supporting Utah City’s continued growth.
The Energy Center began serving Utah City’s first buildings this September. At full buildout, the district energy system will serve approximately 18 million square feet of connected development, supporting a thriving mixed-used community built on efficient, resilient, and lower-carbon energy infrastructure.
