Work Package 6 - Recommendations strategies


TOP TEN PRIORITIES

1. End-use demands: Heating and cooling markets need more attention and be systematically addressed by European and national legislation

  • The heating and cooling markets offer tremendous opportunities to reduce the use of scarce and precious fossil fuels in Europe.
  • While being affected by all policies on electricity, gas or specific fuels, the heating and cooling markets have their own specificities that need to be taken into account.

2. Urban areas: Heating and cooling policies should prioritise action in urban areas.

  • Three quarters of the European population live in urban areas and around half in multi-family buildings, measures targeting urban areas can be expected to have the biggest impact
  • District heating and cooling grids allow to systematically build up coverage for residential and service sector demands.

3. Local conditions: Sitting production facilities and infrastructure planning / support must be based on cost/benefit analysis of the various supply options.

  • Heating and cooling markets are local, demand-driven markets. Tailor-made solutions are required to connect demands to locally available surplus heat and renewable resources.
  • It is essential that public authorities get actively engaged in cost/benefit analysis and subsequent planning with a view to ensuring that those options are chosen which will be the most beneficial for the community as a whole.

4. Statistics and monitoring: EU and national governments need to ensure better monitoring of local heating and cooling markets to enable proper analysis and policymaking

  • Policy making must be based on solid facts and figures. Current statistics do not provide a complete picture of heating and cooling markets.
  • The EU should ensure continuous and complete monitoring.

5. Resource efficiency: Impact of all legislative measures and energy investments must be evaluated from a primary resource perspective

  • The distinction between demand and supply sides does not reflect the reality of the complex energy system anymore. Focus on a single energy source or technology can result in sub-optimal and inefficient use of resources
  • The concept of resource efficiency combines energy efficiency with the use of renewables from the perspective of reduced fossil fuel use. It reconciles the three objectives of EU energy policy: security of supply, climate protection and competitiveness
  • Primary resource factors (PRF) which take into account the whole chain from energy conversion to delivery to the final end customer should be systematically used to assess and compare the resource efficiency of all heating and cooling options.

6. DHC Policies: Barriers exist in form of inadequate legal frameworks. DHC must be systematically integrated in and promoted by adequate policies as one of the most effective tools to reduce Europe's fossil fuel consumption.

  • The Ecoheatcool project shows the enormous possibilities of district heating and cooling: higher energy efficiency, higher security of supply, lower carbon dioxide emissions
  • District heating and cooling systems are highly profitable from a national economy perspective. However, they are longterm commitments while liberalised energy markets prioritise short term commitments with shorter payback periods.
  • The EU, governments and authorities should help to overcome these barriers by giving DHC a more prominent role in policymaking and by providing an adequate framework for planning, promotion and authorisation.

7. DHC Expansion: Policies need to consider DHC as important tool to optimise energy use and should prioritise expansion and establishment of new DHC systems in markets, which are not yet mature.

  • There is enormous scope for extending the contribution of DHC to reduce fossil fuels and heat losses in Europe's energy balance.
  • Market penetration of District Heating is higher in smaller countries than in five largest EU countries. Market penetration of District Cooling is higher in Nordic than in Southern European countries. The EU must encourage the transfer of experiences on with DHC, also in its international cooperation agreements.

8. DHC Improvement: In the new Member States (EU-12) policies should prioritise market stabilisation, financing system rehabilitation and give incentives for system improvement.

  • The high market shares of district heating in the new Member States provide an excellent starting point for bringing higher efficiency and more renewables to the heating and cooling markets.
  • However, given the need for investment in system improvements, market stabilisation and customer satisfaction are paramount.

9. Allocation: Benefits and costs related to the use of RES/CHP should be properly allocated between parties to enable fair return on the infrastructure investment

  • DHC systems provide the necessary infrastructure for the larger scale uptake of RES/CHP
  • While the benefits (including avoided cost for alternative investment and environmental savings) resulting from the integration of surplus and renewable energy sources are huge for the local community and society as a whole, they do not necessarily generate profit for the DHC system operator. Attention must thus be given to the proper allocation of the costs and benefits between all beneficiaries.

10. Research and Dissemination: Research programmes should target actions to cut costs for DHC equipment; EU should provide a long-term framework for benchmarking and transfer of best knowledge / legislative practice

  • To ensure that research efforts benefit a larger number of stakeholders and to foster continued system adaptation with a view to enabling more and better integration of surplus and renewable energies, a dedicated European platform / programme providing improved financial and material basis for joint research activities on district heating and cooling is indispensable.