1. District energy – policy, flexibility and renewables
Daniel Møller Sneum
Yale University
2 April 2018

2. Agenda European policy What is district energy?
What are those Danes doing?
District energy and integration of renewables
Storage – hype and costs
Important stuff

3. European energy policy
in 2020
Reduce GHG by at least 20% (OK)
Renewable energy at least 20% of consumption (16.7 % in 2015)
Achieve energy savings of at least 20% (16.9 % in 2015)
2030
Reduce GHG by at least 40%
Renewable energy at least 27% of consumption
Achieve energy savings of at least 27%
2050
GHG reduced by 80-95% compared to 1990

4. European policy on district energy
50% of final energy demand is heat in Europe
EU strategy for district heating + cooling in 2016
New Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) includes heating and cooling for the first time
Indirect directives
combined heat and power
industrial emissions
emissions trading
energy performance in buildings
renewable energy
waste management
energy taxation
energy efficiency

5. Q: What is district energy?
A TECHNOLOGY, ONLY IMPLEMENTABLE IN CURRENT OR FORMER COMMUNIST COUNTRIES + AMONG THE HIPPIES IN NORTHERN EUROPE
Illustration:

6. A: An American invention
By Birdsill Holly in NY
Illustration:

7. A: (cont.) Efficient way to heat and cool buildings
Warm or cold water/steam in pipes
From a multitude of heat sources
Transmitted to consumers
Image: Danfoss.

8. District heating share of heat supply in 2014
FI 46%
NO 8%
SE 50%
DK 51%

9. Denmark and Copenhagen
5.7 million inhabitants (3.6 with district heating)
31% of final energy consumption RE-based
54% of electricity RE-based
60% of district heating waste and RE-based
98% of Copenhagen heat supplied by DH
Figure:

10. >400 district heating ‘microgrids’ in Denmark
Map: Danish Energy Agency. Regulation and planning of district heating in Denmark. Copenhagen: 2015.

11. THEORY: How can DE integrate renewables?
Figure:

12. PRACTICE: How can DE integrate renewables?
Figure:

13. PRACTICE: How can DE integrate renewables?
Figures: and

14. Storage costs are low for DH
ELECTRIC
Batteries closing in on pumped hydro; not on heat storages
THERMAL
Same order of magnitude
Graphs:
Lund H, Østergaard PA, Connolly D, Ridjan I, Mathiesen BV, Hvelplund F, et al. Energy storage and smart energy systems. Int J Sustain Energy Plan Manag 2016;11:3–14. doi: /ijsepm
BNEF:

15. Comparing apples and oranges makes sense in some cases?
Storages are part of the ENERGY system – not just the ELECTRICITY system
Images by Abhijit Tembhekar from Mumbai, India - Nikon D80 Apple, CC BY 2.0,
and
Graph: Lund H, Østergaard PA, Connolly D, Ridjan I, Mathiesen BV, Hvelplund F, et al. Energy storage and smart energy systems. Int J Sustain Energy Plan Manag 2016;11:3–14. doi: /ijsepm

16. Important stuff
District energy can be no/low emissions, RE- integrating, energy system-optimising solution
If you forget about district energy – remember this
ENERGY systems, not (just) electricity systems
Storage is good – what kind solves your need?
Explore different options – gas, transport, electricity, heat

17. Daniel Møller Sneum
PhD Fellow, visiting scholar at Dartmouth College US
111 Fairchild
Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society
Dartmouth College
03755 Hanover, NH
+1 (603)
DENMARK
Systems Analysis Division
Technical University of Denmark
DTU Management Engineering
Produktionstorvet
Building 426, room 033A
2800  Lyngby DK
linkedin.com/in/danielmollersneum
Publications

18. EXTRA: Where is DH in traditional flex definition?
Demand-side integration
(P2H)
Dispatchable generation
(CHP)
Storage
(Heat storage)
Grid infrastructure
System persp; not single-technology persp.
As defined in IEA. The power of transformation. Paris: IEA; doi: /BF

19. District heating deployment in the Nordic countries
Graph: Sneum DM, Sandberg E, Rosenlund Soysal E, Skytte K, Olsen OJ. Smart regulatory framework conditions for smart energy systems? Incentives for flexible district heating in the Nordic countries (unpublished primo 2017)

20. EXTRA: Why capacity tariffs can be bad for flexibility
Capacity charge: EUR/MW/month
Example: 10 MW electric boiler, which pays to dispatch when electricity spot price
is 7 EUR/MWh
EUR x 10 MW = EUR
Completely infeasible to operate!
10 MW x 3 hours = 30 MWh
For comparison
EUR/30 MWh = EUR/MWh
Standard house 18 MWh/year = EUR/year

21. Results: CHP + electric boiler depends on subsidies
No subsidies = high LCOH & vice versa