Energy System Collaboration as a Vital Measure to Improve District Heating Performance

Author: Gottfried Weinberger; Bahram Moshfegh; Shahnaz Amiri; Erik Dahlquist; Högskolan I Gävle; []

Keywords: ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY; TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER; ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY; TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER; TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER; TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER; ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY; ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY; Energy system collaboration; District heating; Industrial excess heat; Combined heat and power; Energy system optimization; Metamodeling; Building LCC optimization; Building energy simulation; Cluster energy renovation; Energisystemsamverkan; Fjärrvärme; Industriell överskottsvärme; Kraftvärme; Energisystemoptimering; Metamodellering; Byggnads-LCC-optimering; Byggnadsenergisimulering; Klusterenergirenovering; Hållbar stadsutveckling; Sustainable Urban Development;

Abstract: With joint commitments by twenty-seven countries under the Paris Agreement, the European Union envisioned a resource-efficient and competitive economy without net emission of greenhouse gases by 2050. Immediate and massive efforts across sectors of energy, industry, and buildings will be required, and district heating (DH), through its ability to integrate efficiency measures on the supply and demand side, can play a central role. The aim of this thesis is to investigate techno-economic effects and environmental impacts of different energy system collaborations (ESCOs) with efficiency measures and their ability to improve DH performance. ESCOs studied in Sweden involve various actors and utilize more industrial excess heat (IEH) or new combined heat and power (CHP) plants and provide energy renovation of multi-story apartment building clusters. Results show benefits from lower use of fuels and electricity when utilizing new supplied IEH in a DH system. Systems integration and new CHP plant in another ESCO study show advantages in cogeneration of electricity (29 GWh/a) and industry fuel supply. A new combined-cycle CHP plant in yet another study with systems integration shows benefits with increased electricity production (650 GWh/a), but is also highly dependent on considered investment risk and energy prices. Findings from cluster energy renovation show reduced primary energy use (36.2 GWh/a) and carbon dioxide emissions (8.4 kton CO2/a) mainly from biofuels substituting for fossil fuels in power plants but also decreased CHP production (35.7 GWh/a heat; 6.5 GWh/a electricity) and financial deficit for building owners, energy companies, and industries (44, 33.9, and 2.2 M€/50a respectively). This work proposes methods and approaches (e.g., optimization, simulation, metamodeling) that have the ability to investigate implications from ESCOs with efficiency measures and to quantify changes in system cost, energy resource use, and CO2 emissions. 

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