"Integration of Renewable Energy Technologies in district Heating and Cooling solutions for sustainable living" Workshop - Sustainable Places 2020

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Mohaddeseh Maktabifard

3419 Last modified by the author on 05/05/2020 - 10:28

 

During the 14th century, Chaudes-Aigues village located in the region of Auvergne in central France installed the first high-functioning district heating system in the world.

The region was famous for its mostly rural, mountainous area, with vast forests and dormant volcanoes such as Puy de Dôme which developed an abundance of natural hot springs, known for their purifying mineral water. The initial point of these highly operative systems of wooden pipes was a hot spring and they were transferring water to a network of approximately 30 houses. This plant is considered the birth of district heating and was based on 100% renewable – geothermal energy. 7 centuries have passed since and today the process of heating and cooling of buildings accounts for 50% of the total EU energy consumption. Currently, the majority of this energy (70%) is generated from fossil fuels – coal, natural gas, and oil and it is believed to be a crucial area to drastically reduce the consumption of greenhouse gas emissions. This significant shift to fossil-free energy will result in better air in European cities, higher quality of life for our citizens and consequently bringing us one step closer to the long term objective of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. 

 

The presence of “Integration of Renewable Energy Technologies in district Heating and Cooling solutions for sustainable living” workshop at Sustainable Places 2020 (28-30 October 2020)is aimed to bring together several H2020 EU-funded projects that target the potential integration of substantial shares of renewable energy sources and recovered waste heat into district heating and/or cooling networks, optimizing their operation and achieving decarbonization in new and retrofitted districts to reduce the dependency of DHC on fossil fuels and ultimately leading to a more efficient and sustainable energy system.

• WEDISTRICT- Smart and local reneWable Energy DISTRICT heating and cooling solutions for sustainable living will be demonstrated in Alcalá de Henares (Spain), Luleå (Sweden), Kuźnia Raciborska (Poland), and Bucharest (Romania).

• REWARDHeat- Renewable and Waste Heat Recovery for Competitive District Heating and Cooling Networks. Solutions will be developed at 8 demonstration sites across 7 European countries.

• RELaTED- Renewable Low Temperature District,  an innovative concept of decentralized Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) network solution with substantial efficiency and environmental benefits in four complementary operation environments in Vinge (Denmark), Tartu (Estonia), Belgrade (Serbia), and Iurreta (Spain).

• INDIGO- New generation of Intelligent Efficient District Cooling Systems in two real District Heating and Cooling installations: Zona Franca – La Marina – L’Hospitalet area in Barcelona (Spain) and Basurto Hospital in Bilbao (Spain).

• TEMPO- TEMPerature Optimisation for Low Temperature District Heating across Europe.

• HOTMAPS- Heating and Cooling: Open Source Tool for Mapping and Planning of Energy Systems in 7 pilot areas of Aalborg (Denmark), Bistrița (Romania), Donostia/San Sebastián (Spain), Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Geneva (Switzerland), Kerry County (Ireland), and Milton Keynes (UK).

• THERMOS- Thermal Energy Resource Modelling and Optimisation System in four cities of Granollers  (Spain), Islington (UK), Jelgava (Latvia), and Warsaw (Poland) with vast planning district heating and cooling.

• MATCHUP- MAximizing the UPscaling and replication potential of high level urban transformation strategies within three Lighthouse cities: Valencia (Spain), Dresden (Germany), and Antalya (Turkey). Development of replication and upscaling plans in four Follower cities: Ostend (Belgium), Herzliya (Israel), Skopje (FYROM), and Kerava (Finland).

• DRIMPAC- Unified DR interoperability framework enabling market participation of active energy consumers in four different national markets across the EU - France, Cyprus, Germany, and Spain.

 

The Partners of the 9 EU funded projects will have the opportunity to exchange new ideas, lessons learnt from implementation and discuss upcoming opportunities to maximize the replicability and upscaling potential of the decentralized solutions developed in each project. Participation in the workshop is still possible for individuals or other similar projects willing to disseminate their results or learn from implemented projects in Europe. Registration is available at this link: https://www.sustainableplaces.eu/home/sp20-workshops-events/

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