I wonder the same thing! District heating would be an excellent use, if you could transport the heat to a site with dense population. But transport is the challenge, and why we convert energy to electricity in the first place.
As far as district heating goes though, it could be an absolutely fantastic way to solve the fuel oil problem in the north east; if we could store heat generated in the summer underground in large stores for clusters of houses, it could provide a great way to heat all through winter with simple heat pumps.
Well heat transport it, like any other industry, its own niche of expertise. I doubt plant operators suddenly want to turn into distribution experts, and the outsourcing is likely to be way more expensive.
As far as district heating goes though, it could be an absolutely fantastic way to solve the fuel oil problem in the north east; if we could store heat generated in the summer underground in large stores for clusters of houses, it could provide a great way to heat all through winter with simple heat pumps.