1,721,448 research outputs found
The development of the urban heating sector in Romania
No full textThe transformation the energy sector is going through today cannot be achieved without major changes in the heating systems for urban areas. Since Romania has committed, along with the European Union, to reach specific energy targets by 2030, it is important that these targets are achieved in the most cost-effective way, by also bringing benefits to the society as a whole. Thus, this feasibility study analyses what is the most recommended heating solution to be adopted in three Romanian cities: Bucharest, Timisoara and Oradea, by comparing three scenarios based on individual heating and district heating. This resulted in the following research question:What is the most feasible solution for improving the heating systems in the cities of Romania?By matching the results obtained on a local level with the national level results obtained in another study, confirms that district heating, accompanied by heat savings is more cost-effective, energy efficient and environmentally friendly than individual heating solutions.Provided that the results are confirmed locally and nationally, a set of recommendations for the Romanian authorities is established to help them develop new district heating strategies which empower the municipalities, help to retrofit, decarbonise and expand the existing systems, build new ones, and improve in general the image of this heating system to ultimately determine customers to reconnect to it.<br/
100% Renewable Energy Systems in the Scandinavian Region
No full textDenmark has set an ambitious goal to become 100% renewable by 2050, and this study aims to investigate further how Denmark could achieve this goal. Specifically the study aims to help understand the implications for Denmark when it is interconnected in a Scandinavian system in a 100% renewable energy system in 2050. This study compares three energy system types (supergrid, smart grid and smart energy system) for Denmark within in a Scandinavian context. In this study two extreme situations were developed being a fully interconnected and fully Disconnected Scandinavian system, using the energy systems of Denmark, Sweden and Norway from 2009. A range of technological solutions that represented each energy system type (e.g. EVs, biofuels, heat pumps, district heating) were modelled in sequential implementation steps and were assessed within the context of the two extreme Scandinavian systems to determine wind integration ability, fossil fuel and biomass demand, socio-economic costs and CO2 emissions for each step.It was found that the fully Connected Scandinavian system has lower fuel demand, and improved wind integration compared to the Disconnected Scandinavian system in all steps. However the ideal level of interconnection was not identified in this study. The benefits for Denmark are incalculable using the methodology applied in this study however it is expected that some of the benefits from having a Connected Scandinavian system would likely be allocated to Denmark for wind integration and fuel savings. This area needs further investigation.All energy system types will be able to meet the future renewable energy policy targets, but with large differences in terms of fuel demand in the form of biomass. A combination of the three energy systems is the ideal situation, and there are no technological fixes that alone would allow a conversion towards a realistic 100% renewable society in the future. Measures should relate to energy conservation technologies, renewable energy sources and improved efficiency of supply systems. Further research should be focused on policy development that supports a level playing field between the different energy system types in the future
Electric cars on the 100% renewable energy island of Samsø
No full text2011 marks the first year when a number of major car manufacturers are launching a number of models of electric cars, and the Danish island of Samsø is looking a new ways to integrate transport into its energy systemThis case study shows that care must be paid to designing energy systems from a technical as well as institutional perspective
Sustainable utilization of biomass-derived fuels in the Greek industry by 2050
No full textUnder current plans, the EU aims to be climateneutralby 2050. However, its industrial sector –which makes up nearly a quarter of its total energyconsumption – still faces significant technical andinstitutional barriers to decarbonization.This study uses Greece as a case study to investigatethe role of biomass and biomass-derived fuels inachieving a future carbon-neutral industrial sector inline with EU targets. This study uses IndustryPLANand a methodology which includes interviews and aliterature review to create different scenariosregarding the future industrial fuel mix in Greece.These scenarios specify the demand that can becovered by biomass fuels or electricity, dependingon the required process temperatures.The results of this investigation are integrated intothe EnergyPLAN, and the final evaluation of thefuture scenarios considers the remaining sections ofthe Greek energy system.The evaluation shows that high electrification alonedoes not reduce biomass consumption in contrast tohydrogen use; higher use of dry biomass leads tobetter economic results. The preferable scenarioinvestigated in this study is one that combineselectrification, dry biomass, and gaseous biomasscombustion. It is the preferable scenario because itoffers fuel flexibility and limits biomassconsumption and overall costs.In contrast, scenarios which use gaseouselectrofuels as an alternative to biomass candecrease biomass consumption but increase systemcosts.The study concludes that there are feasiblealternatives to decarbonize the Greek industrialsector while keeping biomass consumption at asustainable level
The Value of Place: Assessing Location-Based Economic Feasibility of Data Center Heat Recovery
No full textThis thesisinvestigatestheeconomicfeasibilityofreusingExcessHeat(EH)fromDataCenters(DCs) forDistrictHeating(DH)purposes,emphasizinghowlocation-relatedfactorsinfluencefinancial viabilityofsuchprojects.Thestudy,groundedinLocationTheoryandIndustrial-Urban Symbiosis,comparativelyanalyzesNetPresentValue(NPV)andDiscountedPaybackPeriod(DPB) ofsixreal-worldDanishDCsites,identifiedthroughspatialanalysis.Thethesisidentifiesthree keylocation-relatedinputfactorsfortheNPVmodel:DHconnectioncosts,temperaturedifference betweenDC’sEHandDHsupply(HP’sCOP),andlocalEHprice.Resultsshowthatdifferences inDClocationcanleadtosignificantlyvariedNPVoutcomes,withcostsofconnectionbetweenDCandDHbeingadecisivefactor.While,withinputEHandelectricityprices,onlylarge-scale DCswithefficientliquidcoolingshowpositiveNPVwithina12-yeartimeframe,resultssuggestthe needtoaccountforlocalspatialandeconomiccontextwhenplanningforDC’sEHrecovery.The projecthighlightstheimportanceofintegratingspatialplanningandenergyinfrastructuredecisions tounlockthepotentialofDCheatreuseinsustainableurbanenergysystems
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