Generally waste heat, waste water and waste streams are available as industrial energy sources in industrial companies. Additionally, their roof areas can be used for solar energy harvesting. The energetic linking of industry and urban areas through the usage of industrial energy for covering the energy demand of the cities is hardly surveyed. Due to the lack of research concerning the symbiosis of industry and cities, no figures are available which enables an economic comparison with other energy production technologies. An economic assessment was carried out using four towns as examples. With the help of the annuity method, amortization times are determined. Additionally levelized costs for electricity and heat under different scenarios are calculated. They reach from 60 to 91 (sic)/MWh for electricity and 25-38 (sic)/MWh for heat. A sensitivity analysis takes into account possible price fluctuations. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.