Chilled-Out Buildings Save Energy, Money  Veolia Energy's ice
cooling facility in Baltimore.  Inside Veolia Energy's Plant
Three in Baltimore, blue pipes carry chilled water that will be
sent out to cool nearby buildings. The green pipes carry
condensed water that removes heat from the chilling system, and
orange pipes carry a refrigerant. The yellow pipes are for a
future cooling system. Mike Ruocco/NPR hide caption  itoggle
caption Mike Ruocco/NPR  This year Congress tried and failed —
yet again — to pass energy legislation to curb global warming.
But the death of the climate bill hasn't stopped efforts to use
energy more efficiently. In fact, it puts the spotlight back on
some rather old-fashioned ways to cut emissions and electricity
bills.  Downtown Baltimore is home to an unusual experiment that
seems almost quaint — cooling buildings with ice. It's a service
provided by Veolia Energy, a small fry in the world of energy
companies. Veolia doesn't run big coal or nuclear power plants —
instead, it tries t