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Heat Roadmap Europe: Identifying strategic heat synergy regions
Abstract
This study presents a methodology to assess annual excess heat volumes from fuel combustion activities in energy and industry sector facilities based on carbon dioxide emission data. The aim is to determine regional balances of excess heat relative heat demands for all third level administrative regions in the European Union (EU) and to identify strategic regions suitable for large-scale implementation of district heating. The approach is motivated since the efficiency of current supply structures to meet building heat demands, mainly characterised by direct use of primary energy sources, is low and improvable. District heating is conceived as an urban supply side energy efficiency measure employable to enhance energy system efficiency by increased excess heat recoveries; hereby reducing primary energy demands by fuel substitution. However, the importance of heat has long been underestimated in EU decarbonisation strategies and local heat synergies have often been overlooked in energy models used for such scenarios. Study results indicate that 46% of all excess heat in EU27, corresponding to 31% of total building heat demands, is located within identified strategic regions. Still, a realisation of these rich opportunities will require higher recognition of the heat sector in future EU energy policy.
... Several studies have quantified the possible utilization of industrial excess heat in the EU, identifying potentials ranging from 80 up to 800 TWh per year [24][25][26][27] (compared to the current DH demand of residential and non-residential buildings in 2020 of 336 TWh [28]). This identified potential could contribute to the transformation of DH generation [26,27,[29][30][31]. ...
... Several studies have quantified the possible utilization of industrial excess heat in the EU, identifying potentials ranging from 80 up to 800 TWh per year [24][25][26][27] (compared to the current DH demand of residential and non-residential buildings in 2020 of 336 TWh [28]). This identified potential could contribute to the transformation of DH generation [26,27,[29][30][31]. These studies are based on different methods for estimating excess heat, which were described in a previous publication [27]. ...
... This paper aims to fill this gap by matching excess heat potentials spatially to district heating areas in a climate-neutral energy system. Spatial matching is commonly used to analyse the techno-economic potential for utilizing heat in DH systems and has been applied in national and EU-wide potential analyses, that included industrial excess heat [26,[29][30][31][32]. Spatial matching considers the locations of both the heat sources and the DH systems, as well as the quantity of heat that could actually be provided and utilized in the respective areas. ...
... By renovating the older or existing building stock to higher standards [5]. This approach is also referred as heat savings or energy efficiency measures in the literature [6]. II. ...
... The studies [5], [11] also found that shifting from DH to electrified heating, i.e., P2H coupling, resulted in a maximum reduction of emissions. The resulting electrified heating may be based on heat pumps or electric boilers installed in dense urban DH systems or individual heat pumps in rural areas [6], [12]. In a subsequent study [13], the effect of such energy retrofits on peak demand was also analyzed. ...
... The constraints (4) and (5) calculate the wind and solar power generation according to the investment decision at each candidate location respectively. The new capacity of RESs that will be installed at each location is bounded in (6) and (7). The constraint (8) balances the electricity demand and supply in each time step. ...
Lately, the European Union has reinforced the targets set to cut back carbon emissions. The energy generation sector and particularly, the district heating (DH) system, is still prevailed by combustion of fossil fuels that heavily contributes to such emissions. This paper presents a system-based approach to study the coupling between electricity and DH sector for effective mitigation of emissions. A mixed integer linear programming framework is proposed that aims to exploit the flexibility of electricity cogeneration together with partial electrification of the DH system by investing in renewable technologies. The objective is to simultaneously minimize the investment cost and emissions. Both the electricity and DH load profiles are segregated into critical and flexible types. Comprehensive demand response (DR) framework of thermostatically controlled loads and electric vehicles is considered while preserving the chronology. The framework is applied to the Finnish energy system considering the generation mix. Results prove that coordinating the electricity cogeneration with renewable generation combined with partly shifting from DH to electrified heating has a great potential in reducing the emissions. For an average weather scenario under DR, the least-cost solution guarantees an annual emission reduction of 12.04% relative to the total emissions of Finland against the total investment of €13.24Bn in wind and solar power generation.
... Common to these studies is a top-down approach where analyses are performed for an entire energy system of a country, e.g. Denmark [12], or a region like Europe [15], without detailing the sublevel systems. Thus, only cumulative storage capacities and costs of TES technologies are addressed. ...
... Despite the importance of TES and future LTDH systems imposed by previous top-down studies [4][5][6][11][12][13][14][15], relatively less attention has been put on how different TES technologies are adapted and performed in LTDH systems. In a recent review summarizing the applications of TES technologies in district heating and cooling systems [8], the majority of examples refer to the TES applications in the current middle and high temperature district heating (DH) systems. ...
... For TES units, there are constraints for the state-of-charge and powers, expressed in Eqs. (13)- (15). These general equations are applicable for all investigated TES units in this study. ...
With the flexibilities added from thermal energy storage (TES) technologies, low temperature district heating (LTDH) system can coordinate the heat and electricity sectors in a cost-effective manner. Such combinations have therefore become an important step to achieve a 100% renewable energy system. Despite the importance of TES has been demonstrated in previous studies, giving drastic changes compared to the current systems, the practical applicability of TES in the LTDH systems remains unknown. Furthermore, the proposed benefits of TES might deviate from the expectations considering the development of future characteristics, such as the low temperature levels and small space-heating demand. This study investigates the performances and benefits of four typical short-term TES technologies, including the use of central water tank (CWT), district heating network inertia, domestic hot water tank (DHWT), and building thermal mass, based on a case LTDH system in Roskilde, Denmark. Techno-economic analysis is conducted on a variety of scenarios, based on future changes in operation of the heat sources to the end-users. An integrated model is also developed to simulate the operation dynamics of the district heating system with regards to optimizing the use of the TES units. This study provides a performance map of the TES technologies in accordance with the transitions from current to future LTDH systems, indicating the relationships between the system characteristics and optimal TES applications. The CWT is found to be most preferable for integrating the variable renewable energy due to its ability to store heat for long periods. In the end-use side, with the improved building performances and reduced space heating demand in the future, there is less potential for the use of building inertia. In contrary, the benefit of the DHWT, which mainly comes from the reduction of bypass loss during the non-space-heating period, is increased in the future. Furthermore, raising the network temperatures for active storage is found to be infeasible under all future LTDH scenarios because this measure significantly influences the heat source efficiency.
... Bruckner et al. [4] estimated the theoretical waste heat potential, using waste heat per fuel consumption figures based on mandatory emissions report data from German production companies. The theoretical waste heat potential was also investigated by Person et al. [5], who suggested a method that was applicable in all EU27 countries and based on CO 2 emissions data and key transfer figures combining CO 2 emission factors and recovery efficiencies. Papapetrou et al. [6] developed a method to map the technical waste heat potential in different industrial sectors of the European member states, starting from waste-to-heat ratios derived from the UK industry in the period 2000-2003, and adjusting them to the real conditions of each member state. ...
... Among these, 30 projects concerned the recovery and valorization of waste heat, which can be grouped into two main categories. The first includes 21 projects concerning the waste heat recovery from auxiliary systems, such as compressed air systems (10), cogeneration power plants (6) and chiller condensing systems (5). The second category comprises 9 projects involving the waste heat recovery from production processes, namely the waste heat recovery from the cooling process of whey (3) and milk in aging tanks (1), the waste heat recovery from sterilization (1) and process steam (1) condensates, the waste heat recovery from the evaporation and concentration of "scotta" (1), and from degassers of UHT milk (2). ...
As a result of the expected increase in food demand, improving the sustainability of the food industry has become a priority worldwide. The recovery of industrial waste heat is widely regarded as a key strategy to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of food manufacturing processes. Estimating the available recoverable waste heat can contribute to driving actions that promote the effective exploitation of such an untapped energy source. This study aimed to evaluate the waste heat potential of large and energy-intensive Italian dairy companies. To this end, a methodology that combined key transfer figures adapted to the Italian industrial context and data on fossil fuels consumption from energy audits was adopted to assess the technical waste heat potential. A comparison with the overall waste heat recovered from the projects proposed by large and energy-intensive dairy companies was carried out to estimate the residual waste heat available. Finally, the economic waste heat potential was assessed by varying the heat transfer operating conditions between the waste heat sources and sinks, and assuming that waste heat recovery was operated through heat exchanger technology. The technical waste heat potential of large and energy-intensive dairy industries was valued at roughly 75.6 GWht/year. Simulation results also showed that more than 90% of the studied companies exhibited payback periods below three years for all waste heat recovery projects, except for those involving gas-to-gas or gas-to-liquid heat transfers.
... Saha et al. (2020) estimated the waste heat potential of the iron and steel sector, cement sector, food processing sector, glass sector, pulp and paper sector, and chemical and petrochemical sector in India. Persson et al. (2014) presented a method for assessing the available excess heat from industrial and energy sector facilities as part of the Heat Roadmap Europe project. The available heat was estimated using a reverse calculation of the facility-specific CO 2 emissions, available from the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR). ...
... et al. (2012),Brueckner et al. (2014),Brueckner et al. (2015),López et al. (1998),Mckenna (2009),McKenna and Norman (2010),Pellegrino et al. (2005), andPersson et al. (2014) Data centres Based on electricity consumption Electricity consumption Power usage effectiveness Literature source(s): Ebrahimi et al. (2014), Lu et al. (2011), North et al. (2013), Ojala et al. (2020), Rasmussen (2005), The Green Grid (2007) and Wahlroos et al. water flow of capacity Water temperature decrease Literature source(s): Averfalk et al. (2014, 2017), David et al. (2017), Guo and Hendel (2018), Mazhar et al. (2018) and Neugebauer et al. (s): Abi-Zadeh et al. (2003), Ampofo et al. (2004), Ninikas et al. (2019), North et al. (2013), Revesz et al. (2016) and Sandberg (2015) Public transportation systems, buses Reverse calculation of emissions Amount of emissions or fuel consumption Engine efficiency, fraction of recoverable heat Literature source(s): Nylund et al. (2007) Power transformers Calculation based on load Load, equipment specifications -Literature source(s): Hazi et al. (2013), Kulkarni and Khaparde (2004), North et al. (2013) and Strbac et al. (2014) Electric cable tunnels Calculation based on load Load or capacity Resistance losses Literature source(s): Davies et al. (2017, 2019) and Strbac et al. (s): Arias (2005), Department for Business and Energy and Industrial Strategy (2016), North et al. (2013)and Sejbjerg et al. source(s): Cronholm et al. (2009), Hemmilä and Laitinen (2018), IIHF (2016), Makhnatch (2011) and Pachai (2009) Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved. ...
The increased use of heat pumps to utilise low-temperature heat will undoubtedly be a part of future emission reduction measures within the heating sector. Identifying these heat sources and assessing their heat potential is essential for their utilisation. Different methods for estimating the potential of excess and natural heat sources found in the urban environment are presented in this study. The research aims to present a replicable estimation methodology which can be applied to any urban area. The methods are developed around publicly available data sources, or otherwise easily obtainable data. The research aims at producing data accurate enough to support decision-making on the district heating company or city level on utilising these heat sources. A wide range of excess and natural heat sources found in urban environments were identified in a literature review. Methods for estimating the potential of the heat sources were developed based on findings of the literature review and the expected availability of data. The developed estimation methods were applied in a case study where the potential of heat sources identified within the Turku area in Southwest Finland was estimated. The results of the case study show the potential of the heat sources within the studied area. The difficulty of obtaining raw, high-quality data are also highlighted. This emphasises the need for advanced processing of available data and insight on the related sources, e.g. building management systems or industrial processes. The methods presented in this study give an overview on how heat potential could be estimated. It can be used as a base for developing more refined methods and for detailed techno-economic assessment for utilising available excess and natural heat sources.
Graphical abstract
... A heat atlas with the information of heat demand distribution was first built for the 27 EU member states in [19,20]. Then, heat recycling resources from the energy and industry sector were quantified and mapped for the EU27 members in [21]. Together with the heat demand map, target regions for large-scale implementation of DH were identified in the same work. ...
... Including industrial surplus heat in the DH system is, according to [107], with great political interest, great potential and high profitability. The high potential of industrial surplus heat was investigated and confirmed at various countries and locations [21,[108][109][110]. Unfortunately, this great potential is mostly untapped. ...
This article provides the state-of-the-art on the optimal planning and design of future district heating (DH) systems. The purpose is to provide practical information of first-step actions for countries with a low DH market share for heating and cooling supply. Previous research showed that for those countries, establishing a heat atlas with accurate geographical data is an essential prerequisite to promote the development of DH systems. In this review, essential techniques for building a high-quality heat atlas are elaborated. This includes a review of methodologies for district thermal energy demand prediction and the status of the integration of sustainable resources in DH systems. In the meanwhile, technical barriers for the implementation of various sustainable heat sources are identified. Furthermore, technologies for the optimal planning of DH systems are discussed. This includes the review of current approaches for the optimal planning of DH systems, discussions on various novel configurations which have been actively investigated recently, and common upgrading measures for existing DH systems.
... The methodological spectrum to calculate the amount of excess heat ranges from estimation approaches based on key parameters [4,11,12] to empirical works, such as that by Brückner et al. [13] for Germany based on an emissions survey. In addition, there are also studies that analyse the role of industrial excess heat for district heating, whereby the industrial excess heat quantities taken so far are based only on estimations based on key parameters [14][15][16]. For these analysis on excess heat potentials, a distinction can be made between bottom-up and top-down analyses. ...
... Here, the results of a Norwegian study were transferred to the German industrial structure. Persson et al. [16] also determined the excess heat potential for Europe based on an emission-based assessment by subsector. The excess heat potential for Europe is 812 TWh/a, and the excess heat potential for Germany is 157 TWh/a. ...
Excess heat can make an important contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the heating and cooling sector. Due to the local character of heat, the local excess heat potential is decisive for using excess heat. However, the spatially distributed potential and the subdivision of the potential into different subsectors have not been sufficiently investigated in Germany. Here we analyse the excess heat potential in Germany according to different subsectors and spatially distributed to the municipal level. We use data of more than 115,000 records on exhaust gas and fuel input from over 11,000 industrial sites. We calculate the site-specific excess heat potential and check its plausibility using the fuel input of the respective industrial sites. Finally, we compare the excess heat potential with the residential heat demand at the municipal level. Our results show that the excess heat potential in Germany is about 36.6 TWh/a, and that in 148 municipalities, the annual excess heat potential is greater than 50% of the annual heat demand. In conclusion, there is a large potential for excess heat utilisation in Germany. In some regions, more excess heat is available throughout the year than is needed to provide space heat and hot water.
... The building sector accounts for almost 40% of the world's energy consumption [1,2]. Thermal energy exploits 75% of that consumption, acting as the most dominant vector of energy consumption worldwide [3]. One significant aspect of the sector is the creation of local coalitions of energy that aim to reduce their carbon footprint [4]. ...
... The normalized data of Table 2 are presented in Table 4. Equations (5)-(7) are solved for the dataset of Table 4 and the FTS depicts their correlations. According to rules R (1) , R (2) ,and R (3) , the data are distributed accordingly to the A 1 , A 2 , and A 3 triangular sets. Table 4. Normalized data of Table 2. ...
The transition to a carbon-reduced future for one of the most energy-intensive actors, the building sector, requires the development of appropriate tools and methods. One such approach is local energy communities (LECs), especially thermal LECs (TLECs), which provide a promising vector towards that transition. LECs exploit energy users as key actors in the energy production process. However, their formation, creation, and continuation are still an ongoing endeavor. Many research efforts focus on creating and continuing LECs in an economic, legal, and incentivized manner, sparsely addressing the formation process. In this Part A, a collective tool for decision-making for potential TLECs is presented. The current study proposes a unified approach to classify the prosumers of energy (consumers who both produce and consume energy) using conventional methodologies (RenewIslands, Kaya Identity). A case study is presented in a fully operating LEC in Kimmeria, Greece, in which both the traditional methods of classifying users are applied as well as the proposed methodology, in comparison. The results indicate a significant improvement to the conventional solutions, which tend to overestimate the needed equipment, leading to extensive installation and operational costs.
... They found that the technically recoverable IEH is about 300TWh/year, one third of which is below 200°C. Persson et al. [32] also looked at the EU as a whole, focusing on excess heat recovery for DH, and found that 46% of the available heat could be recovered in regions with high heat demand densities. An attempt to derive global excess heat availability was made by Forman et al. [11], including not only the industrial sector but also the commercial, transportation, residential and electricity sectors. ...
... This figure is much lower than that used in broad studies based on basic sector efficiencies. For example, Persson et al. [32] used a figure of 25% recovery potential from the pulp, paper and printing sector for excess heat compatible with district heating (DH) applications. Beer et al. [123] studied energy efficiency in the pulp and paper sector in Germany and reported that excess heat recovery potentials could result in steam savings of 9.3% on average, and up to 25%. ...
... There is no systematic research, and collecting data about the potential in different subsectors. In [4,7,9,10,11], for the cases when data from individual industrial installations are not available, the proposed methodology for determination of industrial waste heat were based on combined approach and on using of site-specific data contained in the EU ETS database for determination of primary energy consumption (E prim ). However, such data are not available for Serbia. ...
Final energy consumption in the industrial sector accounts for almost 25% of energy-related final energy consumption in the Republic of Serbia. It is estimated that 50-70% of energy consumption in industry, is intended to heat production in various industrial processes. Some of the produced heat is irreversibly wasted: through walls of process equipment, as the energy of flue gases, wastewater, etc. Utilization of waste heat for meeting heating needs, within or outside of an industrial facility, although possible and recommended, is a challenging task. Carriers of waste heat may be different (flue gases from the combustion process, liquid fluids from the washing, drying or cooling process, etc.), as well as their temperature range (from below 50°C to over 500°C.). Availability of waste heat is highly dependent on industrial processes, while potential consumers often may be distanced from an industrial site. The paper presents the results of the evaluation of waste heat potential for some industrial subbranches in Serbia, based on a previously developed methodology. Based on data about energy consumption in selected subbranches of industry, and the temperature of waste heat carriers, the theoretical potential of this alternative source for direct utilization or utilization by compression heat pumps in district heating systems is determined.
... A large number of published studies focus on identifying appropriate district areas for implementing DH. The feasibility of DH depends on multiple factors, including size of demand, distribution cost, available energy sources, etc. [20][21][22][23]. Overall, linear thermal demand density, which measures energy demand per unit length of thermal network, is commonly used as the major filtering parameter [24,25]. ...
... Nevertheless, solar thermal and geothermal rely on the availability of the source, thus they are suitable to cover only a fraction of the overall demand, while HPs can be operated steadily and can become particularly attractive wherever there is a good thermal source to exploit. For example, HPs may effectively recover high-temperature waste heat from industrial processes, electricity generation, or, at a lower temperature, from data centers and metro systems [4][5][6][7]. HPs are commercially available for supplying heat up to 80-100°C, but as the temperature increases the technology readiness level decreases [8,9]. Together with the need of adopting environmentally friendly fluids and limiting capital expenditures, the increase in achievable temperature of supply is the main challenge for an effective design of vapor compression HP. ...
... The main method used by previous researchers to address system scope issues is to establish a threshold for preliminary assessment of the scope. Typical threshold values are spatial demand density of 150 MWh/ha/a (Persson et al. 2014) or linear demand density of 1.4 MWh/Tm/a (Gudmundsson et al. 2013), above which a site is considered potentially suitable for a district heating system. It is pointed out that these indicators are empirical values based on conventional heating networks and vary from region to region (Sameti und Haghighat 2017). ...
The design of district heating systems often involves the consideration of the appropriate system scope and the trade-off between decentralized and centralized systems, referred to as spatial uncertainties. This study presents a novel optimization method aimed at sustainable dimensioning of the district heating system by simultaneously optimizing the system concept, scope, and design of equipment. The method quantifies the spatial uncertainty and assists in the decision between decentralized and centralized systems by using clustering algorithms and the genetic algorithm. The proposed approach was tested in a city-scale case study, resulting in improved solutions with lower levelized energy cost and carbon dioxide emissions, and providing insights into the energy system and district heating network scope relationship.
... 8.3 EJ/year is wasted by thermal power generation [2]. Then, the recoverable potential is about the 86% of overall buildings demand, quantified in 13.1 EJ/year [3,4]. The waste heat potential from various energy sectors is reported in Table 1. ...
... They found out a correlation between the energy consumed by the country and the industrial waste heat as well as energy consumed by the industry and industrial waste heat. Persson et al. [9] identified annual EH potentials based on carbon dioxide emission data from the energy and industrial sector across EU-27 countries and elaborated heat synergy regions at NUTS3 level with a mapping of the emitting locations. ...
This paper aims to present an approach for the planning of carbon low heat supply in a future district heating system based on open data for German cities with existing district heating networks. One focus is on the integration of industrial waste heat and the uncertainty of future waste heat sources as well as restrictions on the use of biomass. For that purpose, knowledge about the energy demand is necessary. In a first step it is shown how the demand around a heating network is estimated with spatial data and a load profile is generated. Local available heat sources are examined according to their suitability and their kind of integration in the heating network. As heat production from different units are optimised, the development of a simulation model will be presented. The simulation is based on the optimisation of the operational costs of the used technologies for heating supply. Different scenarios covering various technologies and economic assumptions are applied. The results show the levelized costs of heating as well as the ecological performance. A sensitivity analysis shows the importance of uncertainties for the economic assumptions. The results showing levelized costs of heating as well as the ecological performance underlining the advantage of excess heat integration.
... However, thermal energy systems, which are used for the purpose of heating, cooling, bathing, showering and cooking [11], are largely understudied within the context of energy communities [12]. This contrasts with the importance of thermal energy at the community level within European countries, as these systems cover approximately 60%-75% of the non-transportrelated energy consumption among households [13]. This is problematic, as to foster the local energy transition (and the energy-secure transition as a whole), it is essential also to include energy communities with thermal energy applications [14]. ...
Thermal energy communities are community-based initiatives for heating and cooling purposes, where thermal energy is generated and consumed collectively based on renewable thermal energy sources for all participants. This article answers why and how to establish such collective energy systems in Europe, considering their unique characteristics and energy security requirements.
... 8.3 EJ/year is wasted by thermal power generation [2]. Then, the recoverable potential is about to 86% of overall buildings demand, quantified in 13.1 EJ/year [3,4]. The waste heat potential from various energy sectors is reported in Table 1. ...
... By 2008 in Norway, up to 19 TWh of industrial waste heat was used for heating purposes (Sevault, Stavset, and Bantle 2017). Excess heat from industrial processes is estimated to be 812 TWh/year in Europe (EU27) (Persson, Moller, and Werner 2014). However, much of this heat is not used due to a low match between demand and availability. ...
Xylem in Emmaboda, Sweden, has one of the first borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) sites storing excess heat and has been previously thoroughly studied and monitored. Here, the results from distributed temperature sensing (DTS) measurements in observation boreholes, UB1, 10 m outside the BTES, and UB46, inside the BTES, are presented. The measurements were performed in February and March to September 2019. DTS combined with geological and hydrogeological knowledge give qualitative insights into Emmaboda's heat transfer in operation. To analyze the DTS measurements, knowledge about the borehole deviations and relative physical locations among boreholes is necessary. The measured temperature profile in UB1 is parallel to the geothermal gradient, follows BTES temperature, and does not seem disturbed by groundwater flow and production boreholes. The flat terrain and several rivers and dams in the area, together with results from the thermal response test following the mineralogical composition of the bedrock, verify no regional groundwater flow. Emmaboda's heat loss is conductive only. In UB46, the temperature irregularities are interpreted as contact points or vicinity to production boreholes. Larger temperature responses in heat charging than in extraction mode are probably due to higher temperatures. Three-dimensional to four-dimensional design, documentation and visualization should further examine the influence of borehole deviation.
... These goals are not specifically connected to EU legislation, as CO 2 emissions mitigation is also part Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Alizadeh et al. 2014). Along with this path, Heat Roadmap Europe (Persson et al. 2014) classifies waste as the primary district heating heat source. On the other hand, material scarcity is tackled through the Raw Materials Initiative (EC 2008b) and the Flagship Initiative for a Resource Efficient Europe (EC 2011d) which outlines the transformation of the EU economy into a sustainable one till 2050. ...
The EU legislation put the focus on the material recovery of waste while energy recovery is not elaborate enough and all thermochemical conversion technologies are classified in the same category regardless of the final products, which can hamper overall sustainability. Therefore, this research analyses technologies for recovery of plastic waste to review the existing EU legislation and technology classifications. Most important LCA impact categories from the legislation point of view were identified and used in the analysis. As alternative thermochemical recovery technologies are not widely used, their inventories were modelled based on an extensive literature review. Results show that pyrolysis of plastic waste has 46%, 90%, and 55%, while gasification up to 24%, 8%, and 91%, lower global warming, abiotic depletion, and cumulative energy demand-related impacts, respectively, compared to incineration with CHP generation. Incineration-based scenarios show lower impacts only in the acidification potential category which is dependent on energy mixes of substituted energy vectors which are quickly changing due to the energy transition. Thus, alternative thermochemical recovery technologies can help in reaching sustainable development goals by lowering environmental impacts and import dependence. But, before considering new investments, the substitution of less environmentally sustainable fuels in facilities like cement kilns needs to be looked upon. Results of this analysis provide levelized results for environmental and resource sustainability based on which current legislative views on individual thermochemical recovery technologies may be re-examined.
Graphical abstract
... These goals are not speci cally connected to EU legislation, as CO 2 emissions mitigation is also part Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Alizadeh et al. 2014). Along with this path, Heat Roadmap Europe (Persson et al. 2014) classi es waste as the primary district heating heat source. On the other hand, material scarcity is tackled through the Raw Materials Initiative (EC 2008b) and the Flagship Initiative for a Resource E cient Europe (EC 2011d) which outlines the transformation of the EU economy into a sustainable one till 2050. ...
The EU legislation put the focus on the material recovery of waste while energy recovery is not elaborate enough and all thermochemical conversion technologies are classified in the same category regardless of the final products, which can hamper overall sustainability. Therefore, this research analyses technologies for recovery of plastic waste to review the existing EU legislation and technology classifications. Most important LCA impact categories from the legislation point of view were identified and used in the analysis. As alternative thermochemical recovery technologies are not widely used, their inventories were modelled based on an extensive literature review. Results show that pyrolysis of plastic waste has 46%, 90%, and 55%, while gasification up to 24%, 8%, and 91%, lower global warming, abiotic depletion, and cumulative energy demand related impacts respectively, compared to incineration with CHP generation. Incineration-based scenarios show lower impacts only in the acidification potential category which is dependent on energy mixes of substituted energy vectors which are quickly changing due to the energy transition. Thus, alternative thermochemical recovery technologies can help in reaching sustainable development goals by lowering environmental impacts and import dependence. But, before considering new investments, the substitution of less environmentally sustainable fuels in facilities like cement kilns needs to be looked upon. Results of this analysis provide levelised results for environmental and resource sustainability based on which current legislative views on individual thermochemical recovery technologies may be re-examined.
... For this reason, the EU member states are asked by the Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/UE to provide a potential diffusion estimation of this technology in their countries [3]. One of the main driving forces of DH is its ability in recovering renewable [4] or waste heat [5], [6] with benefits from the environmental and economic point of view on the energy system. These beneficial effects are even greater in case of fourth generation DH systems, 4GDH, [7] that can accept a wider range of low temperature excess heat and renewable sources thanks to lower temperatures, greater efficiencies and reduced costs [8]. ...
The evaluation of the district heating network investment costs requires the knowledge of its topology. However, when assessing district heating potential, the topology is not known a priori and a simulation is required. One method for modelling future heat networks involves the use of Minimum Spanning Tree, from the graph theory. In this work, the MST is used together with real networks lengths to elaborate an updated equation describing the effective width in correlation with the number of building ratio instead of plot ratio. The reason motivating the use of simulated networks lies in the goal of analysing sparse areas where there's a general lack of data. In this study, the census cells vertexes and local roads layout are used as inputs for the application of the MST in order to simulate DH network layouts in areas where DH is not present. The method has been validated by running simulations in areas where DH is already present, allowing the comparison of the respective lengths. The validation shows a variable but systematic overestimation of the simulated lengths. The study of the error has brought to the definition of a correlation between accuracy of results and the share of buildings with centralized heating systems suitable for DH connection. The updated version of the effective width confirms the exponential tendency and gives higher results for Italian cities then for Scandinavian ones, showing an important impact of the city structure in the curve. The city of Milano is finally used as a case study to show the effects of using the updated effective width curve.
... To realise an efficient and low-cost solution of the coordinated system for the future, it is essential to understand the level of renewable energy utilised, type of heating solution to be used and the extent of district heating and its network. For cheaper and sustainable solutions enabling increased use of renewable energy, some of the studies performed under Heat Roadmap Europe proposes CHP and large heat pumps based district heating systems for larger communities and urban areas, and P2H based individual heat pumps for rural areas, replacing natural gas and oil based boiler systems [42]- [41] Denmark is one of the leading examples of emerging district heating integration to smart energy systems. More than 60% of the population are connected to district heating schemes, and its efficient use and technological development over several years has a strong impact on the development of the country's smart energy sector [45]. ...
The scope of JWG C6/C1.33 is to study the configurations, impacts and prospects of multi-energy
systems that enable enhanced solutions for intelligent electricity systems, energy storages and demand
side management in electricity grids with an increasing share of distributed energy resources (DER).
Multi-energy systems (MES) couple various energy sectors like electricity, heat, gas, transport, water
etc. to unlock the energy flexibility and provisions for cost-effective operation while realising low-carbon
smart electricity grids. With the increasing penetration of variable electricity production from solar and
wind sources, a high level of flexibility is essential to balance the power in the electricity systems at all
time scales. The extraction of flexibility is more effective and economical when a complementary mixture
of various solutions is utilised in the form of local and controllable generation, energy conversion and
demand (electric vehicles, heat pumps, electrolysers etc.), demand-side management, energy storages
etc. Through electrification of transport, heat and gas infrastructures and their networks, a major
potential source of low cost, energy intensive and short-to-long-term energy storage systems is in offer
when compared to large-scale electricity storages. [...]
https://e-cigre.org/publication/863-multi-energy-system-interactions-in-distribution-grids
... Industry, the building sector and transportation became the main actors of the planet's radical climate change. The building sector accounts for 40% of the total energy consumption, with thermal energy being 75% of it [2]. Additionally, housing settlements with at least one member above 65 years of age, present an increase of 8% in thermal energy consumption yearly [3]. ...
One of the most crucial factors for energy transition and the incorporation of renewable energy sources into the existing energy map is citizen engagement. Local energy communities (LECs), which are cooperative-based coalitions aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the residential building sector, have received increasing attention in the past decade. This is because residential buildings account for almost half of the total energy consumed worldwide. A resounding 75% of it is used for thermal energy consumption, heating and cooling, cooking and bathing. However, the main focus of the literature worldwide is explicitly on electrical LECs, despite the fact that the significant increase in natural gas and oil prices, creates instability in the heating and cooling prices. The scope of this study is to provide an overview of the research field regarding Thermal LECs, using both a thorough literature review as well as bibliometric analysis (VOSviewer software), in order to validate the findings of the review. The results indicate a collective scarcity of literature in the field of thermal/cooling energy communities, despite their proven value to the energy transition. A significant lack of directives, research background and state initiatives in the context of LECs incorporating thermal/cooling energy production, storage and distribution systems, was also observed. Case studies and the applications of such systems are scarce in the available literature, while published studies need further feasibility assessments.
... The recovered waste heat can be used internally or externally [42]. Globally, the high potential for further use of excess heat in DH systems has been assessed and confirmed for China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union [43,[81][82][83]. The total amount of waste heat that can be recovered (waste heat potential) in the EU countries is about 750 TWh/year which is one-quarter of the European annual heat demands for buildings [84]. ...
As an integrated part of future sustainable energy systems, district heating has been widely established as a convenient solution to provide energy-efficient space heating and sanitary hot water. In the pathway towards decarbonization of district heating, its 4th generation enables integration of high shares of renewable energy sources and waste heat. This article reviews the challenges confronted by such integration, investigating the technical and non-technical difficulties associated with the exploitation of solar thermal, waste heat, geothermal, and biomass energy sources into district heating systems. The study reveals that although solar thermal district heating is a mature technology, optimization of solar field size, location and collector type is still an active research field. In application of waste heat, distance between heat sources and users is often a barrier. Moreover, low-temperature waste heat and low-enthalpy geothermal sources require application of heat pumps. As regards biomass, its theoretical dispatchability is in practice limited by logistical challenges and low flexibility of biomass boilers, mostly relegating it to cover base load only. Thus, biomass does not appear to be a long-term solution for heating purposes, also considering its competing use to produce biofuels (needed for sectors more difficult to decarbonize). Lastly, application of seasonal storage coupled with heat pumps is expected to play a crucial role in maximizing renewable energy use, but its sizing and integration requires dynamic analysis of heat demand as well as of charging and discharging temperatures.
... [14], [17], [18], [24]), this leads to more publications of often case-driven research. Despite the importance of heating and cooling [25], which covers approximately 75% of the non-transport related energy consumption among households [26], [27], community-based initiatives for heating and cooling, namely thermal energy communities (TEC), have received less attention in the literature. ...
Energy communities are decentralized socio-technical systems where energy is jointly generated and distributed among a community of households locally. As the energy that is shared among the community is commonly electricity, the energy community's literature is dominated by electricity-systems and mostly neglects collective thermal energy as an alternative energy carrier for heating and cooling. Our goal in this article is to organise the existing research on “community-based initiatives for heating and cooling ” by using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, and based on this analysis, identify a future research agenda. Our analysis reveals that the number of publications in this area has been growing fast recently, focusing on technological challenges. Fewer papers take an institutional point of view, in which they cover policies, price reforms and values. The institutionally oriented papers focus on solar thermal energy and bio-based thermal energy. Other thermal technologies, such as geothermal wells, are largely neglected in the literature, but are known to have different institutional constraints. Informal rules and values are mainly researched from a consumer perspective. Since energy communities often consist of consumers and prosumers, additional research is warranted into this area. Evaluative criteria for such communities are limited to economic aspects and greenhouse gas emissions, while indicators such as soil pollution and spatial planning that may play an equally important role are neglected. We recommend studying thermal energy communities as distinctive entities with their own unique characteristics, and we develop a research agenda for this purpose.
... GIS (geographic information system) framework has been widely used before in energy-related research topics [23], such as mapping and identification of district heat grid expansion sites [24,25]. Further examples include utilization of CO 2 emission data to identify industrial excess heat sources [26]. Welder et al. [27] combined GIS tools with mixed integer linear programming to optimize hydrogen-based energy infrastructure containing cavern storages, wind turbines and hydrogen pipelines. ...
Hydrogen is a versatile feedstock for various chemical and industrial processes, as well as an energy carrier. Dedicated hydrogen infrastructure is envisioned to conceptualize in hydrogen valleys, which link together the suppliers and consumers of hydrogen, heat, oxygen, and electricity. One potential hydrogen valley is the Bay of Bothnia, located in the northern part of the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden. The region is characterized as having excellent wind power potential, a strong forest cluster with numerous pulp and paper mills, and significant iron ore and steel production. The study investigates the hydrogen-related opportunities in the region, focusing on infrastructural requirements, flexibility, and co-operation of different sectors. The study found that local wind power capacity is rapidly increasing and will eventually enable the decarbonization of the steel sector in the area, along with moderate Power-to-X implementation. In such case, the heat obtained as a by-product from the electrolysis of hydrogen would greatly exceed the combined district heat demand of the major cities in the area. To completely fulfil its district heat demand, the city of Oulu was simulated to require 0.5–1.2 GW of electrolyser capacity, supported by heat pumps and optionally with heat storages.
... This figure is much lower than broad studies based on basic sector efficiencies. For example, Persson et al. [24] used a figure of 25% recovery potential from the pulp, paper and printing sector for excess heat compatible with district heating (DH) applications. Beer et al. [57] studied energy efficiency in the pulp and paper sector in Germany and reported that excess heat recovery potentials could result in steam savings of 9.3% on average and up to 25%. ...
The recovery and utilisation of industrial excess heat has been identified as an important contribution for energy efficiency by reducing primary energy demand. Previous works, based on top-down studies for a few sectors, or regional case studies estimated the overall availability of industrial excess heat. A more detailed analysis is required to allow the estimation of potentials for specific heat recovery technologies, particularly regarding excess heat temperature profiles. This work combines process integration methods and regression analysis to obtain cogeneration targets, detailed excess heat temperature profiles and estimations of electricity generation potentials from low and medium temperature excess heat. The work is based on the use of excess heat temperature (XHT) signatures for individual sites and regression analysis using publicly available data, obtaining estimations of the technical potential for electricity generation from low and medium temperature excess heat (60–140 °C) for the whole Swedish kraft pulp and paper industry. The results show a technical potential to increase the electricity production at kraft mills in Sweden by 10 to 13%, depending on the level of process integration considered, and a lower availability of excess heat than previously estimated in studies for the sector. The approach used could be adapted and applied in other sectors and regions, increasing the level of detail at which industrial excess heat estimations are obtained when compared to previous studies.
... In the study of Connolly et al. [14] the industrial waste heat amounts of 27 individual countries in the European Union were presented. In another study, Persson et al. used the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register in combination with sector-specific standard efficiencies to determine the waste heat potential [15]. The distribution of the potential waste heat amount of the individual different European countries can be found in both studies. ...
The annual waste heat available from industry in the European Union is more than 2700 PJ. Consequently, the utilization of the unexploited thermal energy will decisively contribute to a reduced overall power consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions. In the present investigation, a cycle layout, based on supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2), was applied for a certain waste heat source, a gas compressor station. The boundary conditions determined by the cycle were used by the numerical code ANSYS CFX to design a pre-cooler. Subsequently, this printed circuit heat exchanger was examined for sCO2 mass fluxes between 100 kg/m²s and 900 kg/m²s. The heat transfer and pressure drop increase as the flow channel diameter is reduced. As the pressure drop of the coolant channel is more sensitive to the diameter, a larger coolant channel diameter is selected to maintain a reasonably low pressure drop. The optimum pre-cooler design consists of a 0.5 mm and 0.8 mm channel diameter for the sCO2 and coolant channel. Based on these results, internal fins were applied and optimized, to improve the heat transfer performance. An internal fin height of 4 mm was found to achieve the optimum thermal-flow performance for the pre-cooler.
... In the literature about energy communities, thermal energy applications are understudied [15], however, thermal energy covers no less than 75% of total non-transport related energy consumption among households [16,17]. Discussions mainly address either energy communities in the general sense of the concept (e.g. ...
Energy communities are key elements for local energy transitions, collectively generating, distributing and consuming energy, using renewable energy technologies. Thermal energy communities, as one type of energy community, are focused on thermal energy applications, such as heating, cooling, bathing, showering and providing hot tap water. As thermal energy applications and systems receive increasing academic and policy attention, there is a need to better understand the formation processes they undergo. In this study, various technical and institutional conditions are explored that influence thermal energy community formation processes by using an agent-based modelling approach. The results show that technology selection is not the most crucial and determining factor for the success of thermal energy communities, yet the surrounding institutional conditions are. Key factors that influence these formation processes pertain to providing training, so that the thermal energy community leaders become more skilled, and allocating subsidies based on the projects’ degree of environmental friendliness. For all stakeholders, finding the balance between all of the decision-making criteria is key to success. The results are useful for practitioners - and especially for policy makers - to develop more impactful policies and strategies to support the expansion of local thermal energy communities.
... Integrating industrial excess heat into a DHN can offer the possibility to provide a cost-effective heat sorce, while also providing some financial benefit to the industry. However, the industry's distance to the DHN often minimizes its energy and economic gains through extended piping heat losses and cost [3]. The use of a string of portable thermal energy storage modules [4] to continuously provide heat to a DHN could be a viable option when there are some physical constraints to the deployment of a new pipeline (e.g, railway crossings, river, etc) where the required changes to the pipeline would make its pumping costs prohibitive. ...
This paper assesses the decarbonisation potential of utilizing industrial excess heat to meet the baseload heating requirements of a district heating network (DHN) located in the Portuguese capital. It performs an economical comparison between two integration procedures: (i) extending the pipeline to the excess heat source; and (ii) using a continuous string of portable thermal storage modules. In this scope, this work assesses the integration of the excess heat from a municipal waste-to-energy plant located 5km from a district heating and cooling network and the decarbonisation potential achieved by meeting the baseload heating requirements of the DHN. For the characterization of excess heat and economic analysis, the EMB3RS platform was used. The analysis showed that laying out a new pipe route was more economically feasible (with a levelized cost of heat of 17,25€/MWh), meeting the baseload consumption with a decarbonisation reduction potential of 30%. The higher levelized cost of heat (LCOH) of the portable thermal storage solution is mainly due to the high daily replacement cost for the thermal stores.
... Previous projects have mapped heat demands and resources (such as industrial excess heat) at high spatial resolution over large areas (single or multiple countries) including the Heat Roadmap Europe [9,10], Hotmaps [11], and several projects within FEEB&D 1 [7,12,13]. However, these works did not attempt to model the economic optimal mix of technologies over the areas studied. ...
Decarbonising energy used for space heating and hot water is critical for reaching emission targets. Modelling of thermal energy decarbonisation becomes increasingly complex as additional technology options are included. Spatial aspects become increasingly important when considering heat transport, for example using district heating. This study develops a model for heating energy decarbonisation that makes use of a techno-economic model applied to a large geographic area (Western Switzerland) at high spatial resolution. Global sensitivity analysis is applied to quantify the variance characteristics of the model. Heating energy services provided by retrofits, decentralised heat pumps, and thermal networks are considered. Final energy demand reductions ranges of 70–80% and emissions reductions of 90% were found with levelized costs of providing the heat service of 0.14–0.22CHF/kWh. High sensitivities were found with respect to efficiency parameters (retrofit potentials and seasonal performance factors). The spatial distribution of costs and sensitivities was shown to be highly variable, with a strong correlation with building density. This raises important questions, notably on equitable distribution of energy transition costs.
Chile is one of the countries with most growing industries worldwide due to their mining and manufacturing industries. Nevertheless, at the same time there is a lack on energy generation and processes efficiency. The objectives of this paper are to estimate the amount of available industrial waste heat derived from the manufacturing industry in Chile, to locate these heat sources geographically, to assess the best technologies to be used to take advantage of this heat, and finally, to estimate the environmental savings of its reuse. Results showed that the sectors with the highest potential for the use of residual heat are food and beverages with an average accumulated potential of 62.9 PJ, basic metals with 21.5 PJ, chemical products with 15.1 PJ, paper products with 10.8 PJ, and non-metallic minerals with 10.6 PJ. With these data, the energy generation in Chile could be more efficient as well as the industrial processes could save more energy, reducing costs and raw materials.
Heating and cooling account for 50% of the European Union's energy consumption and, therefore, reducing its impact is essential to minimise dependency on energy imports (particularly fossil fuel), which are bound to geopolitical conflicts. District heating arises as a critical player in this transition towards a more efficient energy framework. Despite its numerous advantages, implementation is still hindered by inadequate District Heating business models and incentives. This study conducts a holistic examination on the feasibility, effectiveness and, ultimately, the efficiency of establishing a publicly owned and public-privately managed District Heating infrastructure network via a pilot intervention in the city of San Sebastian in the north of Spain. A Value Proposition Canvas, Value Creation Ecosystem and City Model Canvas analysis provides insight into fundamental patterns and relevant recommendations for other municipalities trying to find a business model in which all the involved stakeholders can capture value while addressing at the same time the energy challenges of cities.
The research project “DEKADE-F-Wärme: Decarbonization of the district heating supply through the coupling of electricity and heat sector and the integration of renewable energies“ (funding code: 03ET4071 A–B, period of funding: 11/18 to 06/22) consists of the subprojects of the joint partners TU Berlin and HAWK Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen. Within the scope of TU Berlin’s sub-project A, the reduction of the CO2-emissions associated with the district heating systems is investigated. The existing infrastructure of electricity and heat generation plants is taken as a basis, and the future investments in heat storage, power-to-heat plants, and renewable energies are calculated in a cost-minimizing way. Two
coupled models of the electricity market and the district heating sector are used, representing 82 of the largest German district heating systems. In the context of future developments in energy markets, particularly the electricity market and the regulatory framework, the investment planning and unit commitment within the models are carried out with the models mentioned above. The transformation strategies are analyzed in terms of CO2-reduction potentials, system requirements, costs, and barriers to make the heat transition sustainable and cost-effective. As a result, various cost- and CO2-emission-optimal design options of the German district heating supply are investigated for the target years 2030 and 2045, and
their effects on the dispatch of the German power plant fleet are evaluated. Finally, recommendations are derived on how district heating systems can be transformed in a CO2- and cost-minimizing way. Challenges and political fields of action are addressed. Sub-project B of the HAWK deals with technical operating parameters of the district heating systems of 157 cities and their development for the target years 2030 and 2050, as well as the potential of renewable energies within the city boundaries of the district heating networks. In particular, focus is put on the development of a consistent data set on technical key figures of existing district heating systems, which allows the analysis of the heat supply by district heating systems and the determination of the potential for the transformation of district heating systems to a CO2-neutral heat supply. The results on technical parameters and the potential of renewable energies are made available to the public
via the district heating atlas for the first time on this scale. Likewise, the district heating demand development for the target years 2030 and 2050 is determined. A survey of the potential of renewable heat sources and existing thermal storage capacities is carried out and put in relation to the existing district heating demand. A life cycle assessment is conducted for the district heating system categories of sub-project A, which considers the district heating system in its entirety for the first time.
Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming, comes primarily from fossil fuel-based energy production, which is still prevalent today. Therefore, European countries are adopting several directives and guidelines, as well as promoting many pilot projects. In this context, the district heating powered by renewable sources is still considered a sustainable future energy infrastructure for cities to face environmental changes and pollution. A suitable energy generator for district heating systems is still combined heat and power plants, wherein the use of the waste as an energy source is still a promise. Several works in literature investigated the advantages of Waste-to-Energy to supply the energy demands of a city, underlining their impact on energy savings and environmental sustainability. However, districts and cities still require many efforts to shift from fuel-based energy systems to renewable source ones. In this framework, this study aims to develop a renewable and efficient energy system applied to an Italian neighbourhood. A Waste-to-Energy-Combined heat and power-based district heating is analyzed coupled with photovoltaic systems installation. Furthermore, hydrogen production and storage are also involved, to maximize the super-plus of energy obtained by the cogenerator plant. Results underline the positive impact of these strategies, in terms of energy savings and independence from fuel sources.KeywordsRenewable energy systemsResidential districtDistrict heatingWaste-to-energy
The use of industrial excess heat can be an important factor for the expansion and decarbonization of district heating networks. However, the enabling factors and barriers to implement excess heat recovery projects for district heating are still uncertain. Here, drivers and barriers for the integration of excess heat into district heating networks are analysed and a public available database of 45 implemented projects in Germany, Austria and France is created. 5 hypotheses of enabling factors and barriers were formulated and tested through 13 expert interviews with excess heat producers. Unlike the current literature, expert interviews are combined with a literature review to test the hypotheses. Thus, both quantitative and qualitative data are used to verify or refute the hypotheses. The results demonstrate that projects are often implemented only thanks to individuals and that the communication and exchange between the necessary stakeholders is often insufficient. It is also evident here that relevant stakeholders are often unaware of excess heat recovery opportunities. Furthermore, the results show that financial aspects are often not the main reasons for excess heat recovery for district heating, but play an important role in the decision-making. In conclusion, there are many barriers that can be overcome through meaningful policy design or better information and support.
Spatially sensitive regional renewables’ potentials are greatly influenced by existing land-use claims and related spatial and environmental policies. Similarly, heat particularly related to low-temperature demand applications in the built environment (BE) is highly spatially explicit. This study developed an analytical approach for a detailed spatial analysis of future solar PV, onshore wind, biomass, and geothermal and industrial waste heat potentials at a regional level and applied in the Dutch Province of Groningen. We included spatial policies, various spatial claims, and other land-use constraints in developing renewable scenarios for 2030 and 2050. We simultaneously considered major spatial claims and multiple renewable energy sources. Claims considered are the BE, agriculture, forest, nature, and network and energy infrastructure, with each connected to social, ecological, environmental, technical, economic, and policy-related constraints. Heat demand was further analyzed by creating highly granular demand density maps, comparing them with regional heat supply potential, and identifying the economic feasibility of heat networks. We analyzed the possibilities of combining multiple renewables on the same land. The 2050 renewable scenarios results ranged 2–66 PJ for solar PV and 0–48 PJ for onshore wind and biomass ranged 3.5–25 PJ for both 2030 and 2050. These large ranges of potentials show the significant impact of spatial constraints and underline the need for understanding how they shape future energy policies. The heat demand density map shows that future heat networks are feasible in large population centers. Our approach is pragmatic and replicable in other regions, subject to data availability.
District heating has an important role in the shift to carbon-neutral energy systems through enabling the use of heat sources that would otherwise be wasted to cover buildings’ heating demands. The availability of many renewable and surplus heat sources is however in opposite phase with the heating demand, creating a demand for seasonal thermal energy storage. This study performs a techno-economic assessment of the heat supply system of a residential area in Norway, where seasonal storage storing excess heat from a waste incineration plant is being planned. A heat supply solution combining seasonal storage and low-temperature district heating was compared with two more conventional alternatives: high-temperature district heating and direct electric heating.
The study shows that the seasonal storage is not cost optimal under the conditions assumed, in particular regarding the electricity market; however, the total costs were only 3% higher compared to electric heating. Seasonal storage additionally allows to reduce the use of peak heating units in the district heating system in the winter, thus reducing the costs and emissions related to heat production, and district heating alone has a significant impact in alleviating the pressure on the power grid. The peak power demand was reduced by 28% when investing to low- or high-temperature district heating, and seasonal storage was shown to enable up to 31% reduction in the peak heating demand. Moreover, it was shown that higher electricity prices in the winter and reduced grid capacity increase the economic viability of the solution and could make it competitive.
The defossilization of energy systems by means of renewable energies requires large storage capacities to balance supply and demand. Carnot batteries are an emerging technology which enables base-load capable energy storage with large storage capacities. Low-temperature Carnot batteries by means of heat pump/ORC systems strongly benefit from thermal integration of waste heat sources and allow simple and cheap extension of the storage capacity. However, the temperature mismatch between sensible storage medium and working fluid inherently implies exergy losses which decrease the power-to-power efficiency of the system. Therefore, this simulative study investigates organic flash cycles (OFC) as an alternative to ORCs in Carnot batteries. The six investigated configurations comprise Carnot batteries based on ORC, OFC and two-stage OFC with two-phase expander and intermediate phase separation, each of them with and without recuperation. Pressurized hot water serves as storage medium with a maximum storage temperature of 150°C. The results indicate that low-temperature Carnot batteries generally require waste heat sources to yield feasible power-to-power efficiencies. A storage temperature close to the heat source temperature and a small storage spread are favorable in terms of efficiency but lead to large storage sizes. The organic flash cycle minimizes exergy losses during heat transfer at the cost of throttling losses. Therefore, OFCs necessarily require advanced configurations like the suggested second stage by means of a two-phase expander and intermediate separation in order to generate additional power during the flash step. The two-stage OFC yields significantly higher efficiencies than the ORC, especially for higher storage spreads. For nearly isothermal storage, the efficiencies are comparable. Thus, for an increasing storage temperature spread, the reduced exergy losses during heat transfer outweigh the throttling losses of flash cycles. As a result, organic flash cycles are an efficient alternative to ORCs in Carnot batteries with high storage temperature spreads. Such higher storage temperature spreads allow more compact storages due to a higher volumetric storage density. Finally, a fully reversible two-stage OFC-based Carnot battery concept with two-phase expansion is proposed. The concept combines the advantages of high power-to-power efficiency, high volumetric storage density and reduced investment costs.
Local communities are increasingly taking on active roles and emerging as new actors in
energy systems. Community energy and energy storage may enable effective energy
system integration and ensure maximum benefits of local generation, leading to more
flexible and resilient energy supply systems and playing an important role in achieving
renewable energy and climate policy objectives. In this book, we summarize the different
topics covered in the international conference on new pathways for community energy
and storage in the form of the 14 articles published in this Special Issue on the same
topic. It addresses important developments and challenges related to local energy
transitions and the role of community energy and energy storage therein.
With rapid urbanization, the building stock and related winter heating demands are developing fast in the urban regions of Northern China. In addition to the national strategy to alleviate the air pollution, China has also pledged to achieve carbon neutrality in the future. Although the planning of heating system has been studied from national level, bottom-level regional plans are still lacking, which is especially crucial for a huge country as China that has significantly different characteristics across regions. Therefore, this study examined the transitions of the heating sectors towards 2035 and 2050 for 1047 third-level urban units in Northern China. Future changes in heating resources under the low-carbon transitions and future heating demands with the urbanization trend were investigated. Through geographic mapping of resources and demands for county-level units, the regional differences in future scenarios owing to the uneven socioeconomic development of Northern China were presented, which fill in the knowledge gap. By combining supply-side investigations and demand-side forecasts, various roadmaps were evaluated in terms of primary energy consumption, pollution emissions, and economic benefits. Although significant pollution reductions can be achieved in all proposed roadmaps, the clean heating roadmap with the optimal utilization of available resources presents a lower annualized cost than the business-as-usual roadmap, which simply relies on biomass and supplementary sources such as natural gas. In 2050, the primary energy consumption can be reduced to approximately 3 kgce/m², with an annualized cost of 6 CNY/m². Balancing the carbon emissions and economic performance, the optimal renovation pattern, together with supply side technologies, were identified in this study.
Decarbonisation of heating and cooling in the built environment has been recognised as a necessity to achieve any energy and climate change targets. Heat pumps (HP) are one of the technologies that are extremely validated and utilised in the European heat decarbonisation pathways. However, many challenges and uncertainties still lie ahead of HPs in research, practices and policymaking. Practical evidence from real-world case studies could mitigate some of these uncertainties and accelerate the rollout of HPs. Hence, this research aims to present an overview of the key issues and challenges which emerge from the heat decarbonisation practices through HP technologies across the EU. Adopting the evidence-based approach, experiences from the best practices are synthesised, as well as addressing the state-of-the-art and trends of HPs in the EU. Finally, the key factors and insights which are needed to be considered over the design, implementation and operation of HPs are identified and discussed. The conclusions highlight the significant potential of HPs in consolidated solutions such as hybrid HPs, local heat synergies and heat networks. Heat pumps combined with complementary technologies are ready to serve the first wave of heat transition across Europe. However, regulatory provisions, building upgrades and development of other complementary components must be accelerated to keep pace with the HP initiatives.
District heating and cooling systems represent a valuable infrastructure that can facilitate the integration of various energy sources into urban energy systems. One of those sources is municipal waste. By applying the waste-to-energy concept, landfilled waste amounts can be significantly reduced, and heat, cold and electricity can be produced via combined heat and power plants. This research investigates the possibility of integration of combined heat and power waste incineration plant into the existing gas-based district heating system in the central European city. To secure 365 days of heat demand, the influence of the introduction of a warm district cooling system is simulated, where heat is distributed via the existing heat distribution network to distributed chillers, building sites locations. The results show 33% higher energy-from-waste potential in summer compared to winter, which is an opposite trend to heating demand and compatible with yearly distribution of energy needs for covering cooling demand. Despite the identified compatibility on a seasonal scale, to cover up to 100% of district cooling energy consumption with energy-from-waste, heat storage is needed, due to differences in short-term heat production and demand. This synergy has positive effects on the energy production efficiency and operation of the waste to energy plant and district heating system which results in the highest reduction in fuel consumption as well as in decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. Results of this research can be used for a better understanding of interactions between analysed technologies/systems in the wide range of cities with a continental climate.
Thermal energy storage (TES) is a key technology for enabling increased utilization of industrial waste heat in district heating. The ability of TES to equalize offsets in demand and supply depends strongly on the sizing, control and integration in a heating plant. We consider the problem of sizing TES in heating plants utilizing a varying waste-heat source. To this end, we propose a combined dynamic simulation and model predictive control approach that accounts for the dynamics and optimal control of the heating plant with TES. A case study has been carried out on a district-heating plant located in Norway, with 90% of its annual heat production being heat recovered from the off-gas from a ferrosilicon plant. We evaluate the effective peak-heating reduction with different TES sizes and the energy-to-heat-flow-ratio for the TES discharging periods as performance metrics. For the case study, our results suggest that a modest TES tank volume of 1500 m³ is sufficient to achieve a half-year peak-heating reduction of 12% and comparable performance with larger volumes. The proposed methodology constitutes a numerically tractable means of incorporating the impact of model predictive control on the sizing of TES for heating plants with time-varying waste-heat supply and demand.
This paper describes the methodology of using the PRIMES energy system model to quantify various scenarios accompanying the “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050” published in March 2011 by the European Commission. The paper focuses as well on emission and cost implications.The model based analysis finds that the decarbonisation of the energy system is possible with technologies known today; the power generation sector reduces emissions the most, but also demand side sectors reduce their emissions considerably. Despite considerable restructuring towards using electricity, transportation shows residual emissions by 2050 mainly due to the long-distance road freight transport and aviation. The energy system costs for decarbonisation were found to represent between 0.24 and 1.63 percentage points of cumulative GDP over the time period 2010–2050 higher than in a Reference scenario case which obtains the Climate and Energy package targets in 2020 and a long-term target of 40% emission reductions compared to 1990. The cost range depends on the timely availability of certain decarbonisation options (e.g. CCS, electrification in transportation) and on the extent of emission reduction actions worldwide.
In Europe, heating of houses and commercial areas is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. When considering the drastic impact of an increasing emission of greenhouse gases as well as the finiteness of fossil resources, the usage of efficient and renewable energy generation technologies has to be increased. In this context, small-scale heating networks are an important technical component, which enable the efficient and sustainable usage of various heat generation technologies. This paper investigates how the potential of district heating for different settlement structures can be assessed. In particular, we analyze in which way remote sensing and GIS data can assist the planning of optimized heat allocation systems. In order to identify the best suited locations, a spatial model is defined to assess the potential for small district heating networks. Within the spatial model, the local heat demand and the economic costs of the necessary heat allocation infrastructure are compared. Therefore, a first and major step is the detailed characterization of the settlement structure by means of remote sensing data. The method is developed on the basis of a test area in the town of Oberhaching in the South of Germany. The results are validated through detailed in situ data sets and demonstrate that the model facilitates both the calculation of the required input parameters and an accurate assessment of the district heating potential. The described method can be transferred to other investigation areas with a larger spatial extent. The study underlines the range of applications for remote sensing-based analyses with respect to energy-related planning issues.
This paper includes a review of the different computer tools that can be used to analyse the integration of renewable energy. Initially 68 tools were considered, but 37 were included in the final analysis which was carried out in collaboration with the tool developers or recommended points of contact. The results in this paper provide the information necessary to identify a suitable energy tool for analysing the integration of renewable energy into various energy-systems under different objectives. It is evident from this paper that there is no energy tool that addresses all issues related to integrating renewable energy, but instead the ‘ideal’ energy tool is highly dependent on the specific objectives that must be fulfilled. The typical applications for the 37 tools reviewed (from analysing single-building systems to national energy-systems), combined with numerous other factors such as the energy-sectors considered, technologies accounted for, time parameters used, tool availability, and previous studies, will alter the perception of the ‘ideal’ energy tool. In conclusion, this paper provides the information necessary to direct the decision-maker towards a suitable energy tool for an analysis that must be completed.
District heating and cooling systems move heat in urban areas. Heat and cold are generated in central supply units by heat or cold recycling, renewables, or by direct heat or cold generation. The heat and cold demands should be concentrated in order to keep low distribution costs. District heating and cooling systems substitute ordinary primary energy supply for heating and cooling. Therefore, district heating and cooling increase both energy efficiency and decarbonisation in the global energy system. However, district heating and cooling is a highly underestimated energy efficiency and decarbonisation method in contemporary energy policy, both nationally and internationally.
The physical placement of buildings is important when determining the potential for DH (district heating). Good locations for DH are mainly determined by having both a large heat demand within a certain area and having access to local heat resources. In recent years, the locations of buildings in Denmark have been mapped in a heat atlas which includes all buildings and their heat demands. This article focuses on developing a method for assessing the costs associated with supplying these buildings with DH. The analysis is based on the existing DH areas in Denmark. By finding the heat production cost within these areas and adding transmission and distribution costs, it is possible to find the economic feasibility of supplying areas with DH. The findings of the analysis indicate that there is potential for expanding DH in Denmark, but this potential differs from area to area. It is economically feasible to expand DH in many areas, but others would require reductions in production costs and distribution losses in order for DH expansions to be economically feasible. The analysis also shows the potential boundaries for DH expansion by including transmission and distribution costs. These boundaries are not static, but change according to many different factors. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
This paper presents an overview of heat transfer issues arising from the current national situation regarding energy sustainability and global warming. An important concern addressed is the inefficiency of present fuel usage in the UK – namely large-scale, fossil-fuelled power stations and energy-from-waste plants that discharge huge quantities of low-grade heat to the atmosphere. Other countries recover this thermal energy and use it to supply heating and hot water to nearby domestic, commercial and industrial buildings. Such district heating schemes can provide cost-effective and low-carbon energy to local populations. Although the amount of district heating in the UK is small, Sheffield currently has an award-winning city-wide district energy network that incorporates a combined-heat-and-power energy-from-waste facility, providing electricity and district heating; this scheme is explored herein, with the purpose of identifying potential expansions through heat mapping. Heat transfer will clearly need to play a major part in one or more of the various power generation technologies proposed to meet the demands of the developing energy situation – these comprise high-efficiency systems using high-temperature regenerators or high-pressure combustion and energy storage utilising supercritical steam accumulators, which are all considered in this paper.
This paper defines the concept of 4th Generation District Heating (4GDH) including the relations to District Cooling and the concepts of smart energy and smart thermal grids. The motive is to identify the future challenges of reaching a future renewable non-fossil heat supply as part of the implementation of overall sustainable energy systems. The basic assumption is that district heating and cooling has an important role to play in future sustainable energy systems – including 100 percent renewable energy systems – but the present generation of district heating and cooling technologies will have to be developed further into a new generation in order to play such a role. Unlike the first three generations, the development of 4GDH involves meeting the challenge of more energy efficient buildings as well as being an integrated part of the operation of smart energy systems, i.e. integrated smart electricity, gas and thermal grids.
A methodology for the GIS (Geographic Information System) based analysis of DH (District Heating) potentials is introduced and applied to the continental United States. The energy demand for space heating and hot water in the residential and commercial sector is assessed and spatially allocated using high resolution population distribution and land use data. Demand centers are identified and the overall heat demand and its density are extracted. For each of some 4800 agglomerations, average heat distribution costs are calculated and a CHP (combined heat and power) plant suitable in technology and capacity is selected. The results suggest that there is substantial potential for an extension of DH in the United States. Especially in the north eastern part of the country, a significant share of the demand is located in areas of high demand density. Heat distribution costs vary considerably, and are on average slightly lower in greater agglomerations and regions with high specific heat demands. The overall potential, its distribution to geographical regions and CHP technologies, as well as the average heat distribution costs are found to be strongly dependent on the assumed minimum heat demand density applied to classify the grid cells according their suitability for DH.
In the EU and in Denmark, the aim is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to use energy more efficiently. District heating and combined heat and power have significant potential with regard to achieving this aim. New technologies may make individual solutions such as electric heating, heat pumps and micro-CHP more attractive than previously. Therefore, the competitive conditions between district heating and other types of heating may change in the future. The question is therefore whether district heating can contribute to ensuring the sustainability of future energy systems? Denmark is used as a case as the country has a high share of district heating and produces 20% of the electricity with wind power. The analyses are carried out using the electricity market model Balmorel, which facilitates cost optimization of operation and investments in energy production plants as well as electricity transmission. To be able to perform the analysis an extension of the model is developed, where it is also possible to optimize between investments in individual heating plants or in expansion of the district heating networks, depending on investment costs, energy density of the potential areas and their distance to existing district heating networks. Results show that district heating may contribute to the sustainability and security of supply of future energy systems and that under the given assumptions it is cost effective to increase the share of district heating up to 55–57% of the heat demand although substantial heat saving measures are installed.
In this paper an approach for analysing the potential for implementation of different technology pathways for the European pulp and paper industry (PPI) is presented. The approach is based on detailed technical research and aggregates the knowledge from previous studies to incorporate the whole European PPI. Thus, the potential for different technology pathways can be estimated on a European level whilst still considering important characteristics of individual mills. The usefulness of the approach was exemplified by applying it to a case study of the potential for introduction of carbon capture and storage (CCS) within the European PPI. The results from the case study show that for the European PPI, CCS has an up-hill road in order to be a viable, large scale alternative for reduction of CO2 emissions. If CCS is to be introduced in large scale within the European PPI, large biomass-based point sources of CO2 emissions need to be included when planning for CCS infrastructure and also the infrastructure needs to be built out for clusters emitting <20 MtCO2/yr.
District heating can provide cost-effective and low-carbon energy to local populations, such as space heating in winter and year-round hot/cold water; this is also associated with electricity generation in combined-heat-and-power systems. Although this is currently rare in the UK, many legislative policies, including the Renewable Heat Incentive, aim to increase the amount of energy from such sources; including new installations, as well as extending/upgrading existing distributed energy schemes. Sheffield already has an award-winning district energy network, incorporating city-wide heat distribution. This paper aimed to demonstrate the opportunities for expansions to this through geographical information systems software modelling for an in-depth analysis of the heat demands in the city. ‘Heat maps’ were produced, locating existing and emerging heat sources and sinks. Heat loads (industrial, commercial, educational, health care, council and leisure facilities/complex) total 53 MW, with existing residential areas accounting for ∼1500 MW and new housing developments potentially adding a further 35 MW in the future. A number of current and emerging heat sources were also discovered – potential suppliers of thermal energy to the above-defined heat sinks. From these, six ‘heat zones’ where an expansion to the existing network could be possible were identified and the infrastructure planned for each development.
Increased recovery of excess heat from thermal power generation and industrial processes has great potential to reduce primary energy demands in EU27. In this study, current excess heat utilisation levels by means of district heat distribution are assessed and expressed by concepts such as recovery efficiency, heat recovery rate, and heat utilisation rate. For two chosen excess heat activities, current average EU27 heat recovery levels are compared to currently best Member State practices, whereby future potentials of European excess heat recovery and utilisation are estimated. The principle of sequential energy supply is elaborated to capture the conceptual idea of excess heat recovery in district heating systems as a structural and organisational energy efficiency measure. The general conditions discussed concerning expansion of heat recovery into district heating systems include infrastructure investments in district heating networks, collaboration agreements, maintained value chains, policy support, world market energy prices, allocation of synergy benefits, and local initiatives. The main conclusion from this study is that a future fourfold increase of current EU27 excess heat utilisation by means of district heat distribution to residential and service sectors is conceived as plausible if applying best Member State practice. This estimation is higher than the threefold increase with respect to direct feasible distribution costs estimated by the same authors in a previous study. Hence, no direct barriers appear with respect to available heat sources or feasible distribution costs for expansion of district heating within EU27.
District energy systems are reviewed and possible future enhancements involving expanded thermal networks are considered. Various definitions, classifications and applications of district cooling and heating are discussed and elements of a district energy system are described. Also, the integration of combined heat and power (CHP) with district energy, permitting the cogeneration of electricity and heat, is examined from several points of view and for various locations and applications. One of the main advantages of district heating and cooling systems is their environmental benefits, which are explained in detail. The economics of a thermal network system, as a major factor in the justification for any project, is elaborated upon from industrial, governmental and societal perspectives. Furthermore, related regulations at government levels are suggested based on various investigations. The efficiency of district energy is discussed and exergy analysis, as an effective method for calculating the efficiency of a thermal network, is explained. Finally, other advantages of the district energy technology for communities are pointed out. This review of district heating and cooling considers technical, economic and environmental aspects and helps identify possibilities for future study on district energy systems.
Two-thirds of input energy for electricity generation in the USA is lost as heat during conversion processes. Additionally, 12.5% of primary fuel and 20.3% of electricity are employed for space heating, water heating, and refrigeration where low-grade heat could suffice. The potential for harnessing waste heat from power generation and thermal processes to perform such tasks is assessed. By matching power plant outlet streams with applications at corresponding temperature ranges, sufficient waste heat is identified to satisfy all USA space and water heating needs. Sufficient high temperature exhaust from power plants is identified to satisfy 27% of residential air conditioning with thermally activated refrigeration, or all industrial refrigeration and process heating from 100 to 150 °C. Engine coolant and exhaust is sufficient to satisfy all air conditioning and 68% of electrical demands in vehicles. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential to reduce USA primary energy demand by 12% and CO2 emissions by 13% through waste heat recovery. A detailed analysis of thermal energy demand in pulp and paper manufacturing is conducted to demonstrate the methodology for improving the fidelity of this approach. These results can inform infrastructure and development to capture heat that would be lost today, substantially reducing USA energy intensity.
Purpose
The objective is to describe and evaluate the development of a novel planning tool for end‐use efficiency in the built environment and for infrastructural changes in the energy system.
Design/methodology/approach
After describing problems related to further reduce heat demand in the Danish built environment, the geographical nature of the planning task is discussed. The requirements are then translated into concepts for the development of a general method, which is implemented in a practical design of a heat atlas. Typical applications are described and discussed.
Findings
It was found that the availability of the extensive public databases in Denmark make feasible the development and application of a highly detailed geographical information base for end use and infrastructure planning and analysis. It was also realised that the development has much higher potentials than explored in this paper. On the other hand, the complex geography of the urban/rural boundaries of cities requires extra care when using this approach.
Research limitations/implications
Unfortunately, the results of this report are only directly applicable for Denmark, which maintains public databases on the built environment and socio‐demography with a very high standard of detail and coverage. The research presented here may require further development of empirical methods of the relation between energy demand and physically and socially mapped data. On the other hand, the research may contribute to better data for analyses in the techno‐economic analyses of future energy systems, which now can be carried out for arbitrary geographical units, independent of administrative boundaries.
Practical implications
The method presented here may be further developed as a practical tool to be used to revive the municipal and regional energy planning, either by technical consultants or by local governments. Even a publicly accessible, web‐based tool is feasible.
Originality/value
The paper describes how existing data in society can be assembled to a novel method to be used within energy planning, and environmental management as a whole. A system of the one developed does not exist as yet. On the other hand it builds upon existing traditions in energy planning and local governance.
Regions with densely concentration of industries and district heating systems (DHS) could be interesting study object from the light of an integrated heat market on local basis. System analysis with a widened system boundary could be used as an approach to evaluate the benefit of an integrated heat supply system. In this study, an energy system model consisting of totally seven different participants is designed and the optimization results of the system analysis are presented. With applied data and assumptions, the study shows that a significant amount of the heat demand within two sub-systems can be covered by heat supply from the heat market (the entire heat comes from two industries). Shadow prices, which can be used for heat pricing, indicate the advantage of an integrated system. The system cost reduction through integration and the availability of several actors with diverse energy supply system, makes the region under study an interesting area to prove a locally deregulated heat market. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This paper presents a spatial model of industrial heat loads and technical recovery potentials in the UK, by recourse to energetic and exergetic analysis methods. The aims were to categorise heat users into broad temperature bands; quantify heat usage and wastage at different temperatures; and to estimate the technical potential for heat recovery based on current technologies (whilst ignoring spatial and temporal constraints). The main data source was the UK National Allocation Plan for the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, supplemented by capacity/output and specific energy consumption data for certain heterogeneous sectors. Around 60% of industry has been covered in terms of energy use, and 90% of energy-intensive sectors. The total annual heat use for these sectors was estimated at 650Â PJ, with technically feasible annual savings in the region 36-71Â PJ. This is in agreement with the only extant estimates for heat recovery from industrial processes, which are 65 and 144Â PJ, respectively.
The competitiveness of present and future district heating systems can be at risk when residential and service sector heat demands are expected to decrease in the future. In this study, the future competitiveness of district heating has been examined by an in depth analysis of the distribution capital cost at various city characteristics, city sizes, and heat demands. Hereby, this study explores an important market condition often neglected or badly recognised in traditional comparisons between centralised and decentralised heat supply.
The scarcity of fossil fuels and the climate impact of their combustion are increasingly pressuring problems. The fundamental approach to both of them is the usage of renewable energy sources, accompanied by higher energy efficiency. Cogeneration in district heating (DH) plants allows for more efficient use of primary energy resources and can thus contribute to the solution. This paper presents an assessment of the possible role of DH in Europe until the year 2030. It is based on a newly developed method that allows for the quantification of country-specific DH potentials for different heat demand levels. It relies on a GIS-based analysis of the heat demand in high spatial resolution, which enables the identification of areas suitable for DH. The results suggest that a doubling of today’s heat deliveries could be achieved, making DH a feasible option for increased energy efficiency in the heating sector. The discussion of the results includes an assessment of potential limitations to DH such as the lack of central heating installations and the high capital costs of the distribution network.
The capacity for waste incineration in Swedish municipalities is increasing due to regulations aimed at decreasing landfill with waste. This has a large impact on the municipal energy systems, since waste is an important fuel for district heating production. The object of this study is a municipality, Skövde, which is planning to build a waste incineration plant to produce electricity and heat. The municipality is also planning to extend the district heating grid to include a large industrial heat consumer. The economic effect on the energy system of these measures is analysed as well as environmental effects in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. The consequences of two different policy instruments, green electricity certificates and a tax on waste incineration, are also studied. Economic optimisations show that the advantage of co-operation with industry is twofold: lower heat production costs and a considerable reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. It is economically feasible to invest in a waste incineration plant for heat production. An important measure to lower carbon dioxide emissions is to introduce combined heat and power production on the assumption that locally produced electricity replaces electricity produced by coal condensing power.
This paper presents a newly established database of the European power plant infrastructure (power plants, fuel infrastructure, fuel resources and CO2 storage options) for the EU25 member states (MS) and applies the database in a general discussion of the European power plant and natural gas infrastructure as well as in a simple simulation analysis of British and German power generation up to the year 2050 with respect to phase-out of existing generation capacity, fuel mix and fuel dependency. The results are discussed with respect to age structure of the current production plants, CO2 emissions, natural gas dependency and CO2 capture and storage (CCS) under stringent CO2 emission constraints.
The aim of this consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) is to compare district heating based on waste incineration with combustion of biomass or natural gas. The study comprises two options for energy recovery (combined heat and power (CHP) or heat only), two alternatives for external, marginal electricity generation (fossil lean or intense), and two alternatives for the alternative waste management (landfill disposal or material recovery). A secondary objective was to test a combination of dynamic energy system modelling and LCA by combining the concept of complex marginal electricity production in a static, environmental systems analysis. Furthermore, we wanted to increase the methodological knowledge about how waste can be environmentally compared to other fuels in district-heat production. The results indicate that combustion of biofuel in a CHP is environmentally favourable and robust with respect to the avoided type of electricity and waste management. Waste incineration is often (but not always) the preferable choice when incineration substitutes landfill disposal of waste. It is however, never the best choice (and often the worst) when incineration substitutes recycling. A natural gas fired CHP is an alternative of interest if marginal electricity has a high fossil content. However, if the marginal electricity is mainly based on non-fossil sources, natural gas is in general worse than biofuels.
The expansion of district heating into areas of low heat densities (heat sparse areas) constitutes a challenge due to the higher distribution costs. The profitability of sparse district heating has been analysed from actual investments in 74 areas with 3227 one-family houses connected to district heating between 2000 and 2004 in Göteborg, Sweden. The profitability was estimated from a probable price model, a typical marginal heat generation cost, and the investments from the actual connections made. The analysis identified factors as the linear heat density and heat sold per house explaining the main variations in profitability. The profitability analysis was concluded with a competition analysis. The main conclusion is that sparse district heating is possible when reaching low investment costs for the local distribution network and low marginal costs for the heat generation. In Sweden, the general competitiveness of sparse district heating is facilitated by the high consumption taxes for fuel oil, natural gas, and electricity. Hence, it should be more difficult to introduce sparse district heating in other countries with low energy taxes.
District-heating (DH) networks can utilise heat that would otherwise be of limited use. This study analyses a municipal DH system, which uses waste heat from industries and waste incineration as base suppliers of heat and is currently investing in a natural-gas fired combined heat-and-power (CHP) plant. An important assumption in this study is of the establishment of an integrated European electricity-market, which means higher electricity prices than are traditional in Sweden. The study shows that there is space in the DH system for all three energy carriers; heat from industries, waste incineration and CHP plants. The new CHP plant replaces mainly other heat sources, i.e., hot water boilers and heat pumps. The new CHP plant’s operating time is strongly dependent on the electricity price.
A strong remote sensing regime is a necessary component of any contemporary national or international energy policy. Energy is essential to the functioning of modern industrial society, and as such it is the responsibility of governments to produce sound national energy policies in order to ensure stable economic growth, ecologically responsible use of energy resources and the health and safety of citizens. Comprehensive, accurate and timely remote sensing data can aid decision making on energy matters in several areas. This paper looks at the benefits that can be realized in resource exploration, weather forecasting and environmental monitoring. Improvements in the technology of remote sensing platforms would be of great value to buyers of energy, sellers of energy and the environment. Furthermore, the utility of such information could be enhanced by efforts of government agencies to communicate it more effectively to the end-user. National energy policies should thus include investments not only in satellite system hardware to collect data, but also in the services required to interpret and distribute the data.
Replacing individual natural gas heating with district heating based to increasing shares of renewable energy sources may further reduce CO2-emissions in the Danish Building mass, while increasing flexibility of the energy system to accommodate significantly larger amounts of variable renewable energy production. The present paper describes a geographical study of the potential to expand district heating into areas supplied with natural gas. The study uses a highly detailed spatial database of the built environment, its current and potential future energy demand, its supply technologies and its location relative to energy infrastructure. First, using a spatially explicit economic model, the study calculates the potentials and costs of connection to expanded district heating networks by supply technology. Then a comprehensive energy systems analysis is carried out to model how the new district heat can be supplied from an energy system with higher shares of renewable energy. It can be concluded on the basis of these analyses that the methods used proved highly useful to address issues of geographically dependent energy supply; however the spatio-economic model still is rather crude. The analyses suggest to expand district heating from present 46% to somewhere in between 50% and 70%. The most attractive potential is located around towns and cities. The study also suggests that CO2-emissions, fuel consumption and socio-economic costs can be reduced by expanding district heating, while at the same time investing in energy savings in the building mass as well as increased district heating network efficiency.
None of the EU directives on liberalisation of the electricity and gas markets are considering the district heating systems, although the district heating networks offer the possibility of competition between natural gas and a range of other fuels on the market for space heating. Cogeneration of electricity and heat for industrial processes or district heating is a technology option for increased energy efficiency and thus reduction of CO2 emissions. In the mid-1990s less than 10% of the electricity generation in the European Union was combined production with significant variations among Member States. These variations are explained by different national legislation and relative power of institutions, rather than difference in industrial structure, climate or urban physical structure. The ‘single energy carrier’ directives have provisions that support the development of combined heat and power (CHP), but they do not support the development and expansion of the district heating infrastructure. The article is partly based on a contribution to the Shared Analysis Project for the European Commission DG Energy, concerning the penetration of CHP, energy saving, and renewables as instruments to meet the targets of the Kyoto Protocol within the liberalised European energy market. The quantitative and legal differences of the heat markets in selected Member States are described, and the consequences of the directives are discussed. Finally, we summarise the tasks for a European policy concerning the future regulation of district heating networks for CHP, emphasising the need for rules for a fair competition between natural gas and district heating networks.
Based on the case of Denmark, this paper analyses the role of district heating in future Renewable Energy Systems. At present, the share of renewable energy is coming close to 20 per cent. From such point of departure, the paper defines a scenario framework in which the Danish system is converted to 100 per cent Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in the year 2060 including reductions in space heating demands by 75 per cent. By use of a detailed energy system analysis of the complete national energy system, the consequences in relation to fuel demand, CO2 emissions and cost are calculated for various heating options, including district heating as well as individual heat pumps and micro CHPs (Combined Heat and Power). The study includes almost 25 per cent of the Danish building stock, namely those buildings which have individual gas or oil boilers today and could be substituted by district heating or a more efficient individual heat source. In such overall perspective, the best solution will be to combine a gradual expansion of district heating with individual heat pumps in the remaining houses. Such conclusion is valid in the present systems, which are mainly based on fossil fuels, as well as in a potential future system based 100 per cent on renewable energy.
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