The QTS data center in Groningen has been connected to the Dutch city's new district heating project.

The facility is the first to connect to the new heating plant, built by local utility WarmteStad. Renewably-powered heat pumps deliver hot water through an existing underground heating network that has been installed at Zernike, Paddepoel, and Selwerd.

Overall, WarmteStad will produce heat for more than 10,000 households, buildings, and knowledge institutions in the northern districts of Groningen by 2026. DCD has asked QTS for clarification on how much heat it will provide - Update: QTS is delivering 2.5MW of waste heat.

"QTS has quickly established itself as an important member of the Groningen business community and key contributor to the sustainable district heating project," said Dick Takkebos, director at WarmteStad. "We applaud their commitment to re-purposing expended data center heat into reliable, affordable, and also sustainable heating solutions for the long term."

Travis Wright, VP of energy and sustainability at QTS, added: "We are pleased to be the first to deliver our residual heat as part of WarmteStad's program in support of over 10,000 households, companies- and university buildings in Groningen with cost-effective heating solutions."

Google Street View shows that Dutch colocation company Bytesnet is based at the QTS facility. The company this April announced it would use an immersion cooling-based heat-reuse solution to provide heat to the WarmteStad program.