05-11-2009 MEP says EU policy ignoring district heating
ENDS Europe reports from the District Energy Climate Summit, which took place on November 3.
NewsMEP says EU policy ignoring district heating
Wednesday 4 November 2009
The sectoral approach to the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) is discouraging district heating and cooling infrastructure that could deliver dramatic CO2 reductions, delegates at a conference in Copenhagen heard on Tuesday.
Italian MEP Vittorio Prodi, speaking at a conference organised by district heating industry group Euroheat & Power, said the ETS focus on energy production, not distribution, means it does not provide enough economic incentives to develop the grid infrastructure needed to connect combined heat and power (CHP) plants to heating and cooling systems.
Current EU policies have not focused enough on "total efficiency" and have favoured low-carbon energy technologies that do not require new grid systems, such as carbon capture and storage, Mr Prodi said. CHP plants must be connected to district heating and cooling distribution systems to be effective.
Eva Hoos from the European Commission’s transport and energy department told delegates the commission has catered for district heating in other climate and energy legislation. These include a cogeneration directive, national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, renewables targets and a recast of the energy efficiency of buildings directive.
A Europe-wide solution for CHP is difficult, she added, because it is a very investment-intensive sector and its penetration to date has varied widely across the region. Over half of Denmark’s power comes from CHP, while the figure is less than 5% in France.
http://www.endseurope.com
More information on the summit can be found at the summit website www.copenhagenenergysummit.org
The winners of the District Energy Awards are listed here.
News
MEP says EU policy ignoring district heating
ENDS Europe
Wednesday 4 November 2009The sectoral approach to the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) is discouraging district heating and cooling infrastructure that could deliver dramatic CO2 reductions, delegates at a conference in Copenhagen heard on Tuesday.
Italian MEP Vittorio Prodi, speaking at a conference organised by district heating industry group Euroheat & Power, said the ETS focus on energy production, not distribution, means it does not provide enough economic incentives to develop the grid infrastructure needed to connect combined heat and power (CHP) plants to heating and cooling systems.
Current EU policies have not focused enough on "total efficiency" and have favoured low-carbon energy technologies that do not require new grid systems, such as carbon capture and storage, Mr Prodi said. CHP plants must be connected to district heating and cooling distribution systems to be effective.
Eva Hoos from the European Commission’s transport and energy department told delegates the commission has catered for district heating in other climate and energy legislation. These include a cogeneration directive, national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, renewables targets and a recast of the energy efficiency of buildings directive.
A Europe-wide solution for CHP is difficult, she added, because it is a very investment-intensive sector and its penetration to date has varied widely across the region. Over half of Denmark’s power comes from CHP, while the figure is less than 5% in France.
http://www.endseurope.com
More information on the summit can be found at the summit website www.copenhagenenergysummit.org
The winners of the District Energy Awards are listed here.
