Carbon Dioxide Emissions for Community Sectors in Ecoheatcool

Target Area in Four District Heating Scenarios. (Total emissions from fuel combustion were 4,330 million tons in 2003.)

Mton per year
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
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400
200
0

Outcome for 2003 Improved district heat generation Doubling district heat sales Total district heating potential

are – and provided invaluable insight into the great impact they can have in the future. Still, the major question to be answered after the Ecoheatcool project is this: What specific actions should be implemented to increase the number of district heating and cooling systems and the volume of district energy sold in Europe?

DH/CHP

Energy sector excl DH/CHP

Industry

The diagram shows that when district heating systems grow, the CO₂emissions will be reduced in four sectors: energy, industry, residential and service. The transportation and agricultural emissions will not be reduced, since district heating is not used in these sectors. Carbon

Transport Residential

Service and Agricultural

dioxide emissions could be reduced by about 1 billion tons per year if district heating were to expand to its total possible potential. These results prove the far-reaching benefits of district heating in the European energy balance.

Sven Werner is in the Department of Energy & Environment at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was responsible for the heating-related portions of the Ecoheatcool project, including assessment of the European heat market and of the benefits of doubling district heating’s market share in Europe. Currently engaged in a two-year project devoted to district heating issues, he served the university as adjunct professor in district heating system technology from 1999 to 2006. Werner has been employed by Fjärrvärmebyrån (FVB) since 1995, working with district heating planning, management, market and research issues. He previously held planning, plant and market manager positions at Borås Energy. He can be reached at sven.werner @ fvb.se.

6. District energy benefits: District energy must be systematically integrated in and promoted by adequate policies as one of the most effective tools to reduce Europe’s fossil fuel consumption.

7. District energy improvement: Policies should prioritize market stabilization, financing system rehabilitation and give incentives for system improvement.

8. District energy expansion: Policies need to consider district energy as an important tool to optimize energy use and should prioritize expansion and establishment of new district energy systems in markets that are not yet mature. 9. Allocation: Benefits and costs related to using renewable energy sources/CHP should be properly allocated between parties to enable fair return on the infrastructure investment.

10. Research and dissemination: Research programs should target actions to cut costs for district energy improvement; EU should provide a long-term framework for benchmarking and transfer of best knowledge/legislative practice.

District heating and cooling systems are important parts of the European energy system with respect to energy efficiency, security of supply and environmental impact. Ecoheatcool has quantified just how vital they currently