‘The LED of heating and cooling’Compared with conventional heating and cooling methods, aquifer thermal energy storage can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 74% according to the 2024 study. The system is similar to geothermal heating and cooling networks already in use elsewhere in the region, which use layers of rock and sediment as sources and sinks of thermal energy. The main difference is that aquifer geothermal requires far less drilling. Aquifer geothermal also requires access to shallow underground aquifers, which do not exist everywhere but are a good fit for Minnesota, which has an abundance of subsurface water. The aquifer thermal energy system at The Heights – including the wells, heat exchangers and pipe network – will cost about £8.9m ($12m) to construct.