Renewable Energy Integration in German District Heating Systems
(2024) MVKM05 20241Department of Energy Sciences
- Abstract
- In order to decarbonise the heating sector, district heating is seen as an efficient and potentially environmentally friendly approach to achieving the sector's climate targets. Currently, German district heating systems rely predominantly on fossil fuels and utilise combined heat and power plants, which are efficient but not climate neutral. Therefore, the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) is crucial to further reduce the carbon footprint of these systems. To promote this development this year Germany enacted a new law that sets targets for municipal utilities for the future to increase the share of RES. This legislation has an impact on their business models and therefore requires an analysis of its impact on economic... (More)
- In order to decarbonise the heating sector, district heating is seen as an efficient and potentially environmentally friendly approach to achieving the sector's climate targets. Currently, German district heating systems rely predominantly on fossil fuels and utilise combined heat and power plants, which are efficient but not climate neutral. Therefore, the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) is crucial to further reduce the carbon footprint of these systems. To promote this development this year Germany enacted a new law that sets targets for municipal utilities for the future to increase the share of RES. This legislation has an impact on their business models and therefore requires an analysis of its impact on economic feasibility and system operation. District heating systems in Germany are diverse and depend on local energy potentials for the integration of renewable energy. Therefore, an individual assessment of these systems is necessary to evaluate the economic feasibility and the potential to increase the share of renewable energy. The aim of this work is to analyse the integration of renewable energies into the district heating system of Schwäbisch Hall municipal utilities. In particular, it is analysed how different pricing scenarios affect the system's production plan, operating costs and their implications on investment decisions. In addition, it is investigated how the sensitivity of the system to electricity and gas prices changes with the integration of renewable energies, as well as the sensitivity to other input parameters. The system is analysed, modelled and simulated using Energy Optima 3, an energy supply optimisation software. The results show that the economic feasibility varies in the different scenarios, ranging from very favorable to similar performance to the current system. In addition, the new system shows greater resilience to changing input prices compared to the current system and has the potential to achieve a RES share of up to 95% based on the local energy potential. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- As the world faces the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the heating sector is a critical area for reducing carbon emissions. District heating systems, which distribute heat from a central source to multiple buildings using underground pipes, are seen as a promising solution for achieving climate targets. Currently, many district heating systems in Germany rely heavily on fossil fuels, making them efficient but not climate-neutral. To change this, renewable energy sources need to be integrated into these systems to reduce their carbon footprint.
To encourage this, Germany passed a new law this year that sets targets for municipal utilities to increase the share of renewable energy. This legislation impacts their businesses,... (More) - As the world faces the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the heating sector is a critical area for reducing carbon emissions. District heating systems, which distribute heat from a central source to multiple buildings using underground pipes, are seen as a promising solution for achieving climate targets. Currently, many district heating systems in Germany rely heavily on fossil fuels, making them efficient but not climate-neutral. To change this, renewable energy sources need to be integrated into these systems to reduce their carbon footprint.
To encourage this, Germany passed a new law this year that sets targets for municipal utilities to increase the share of renewable energy. This legislation impacts their businesses, making it necessary to analyse its effects and ensure that the targets are met. As heat supply systems in Germany are diverse and rely on locally available energy sources, individual assessments are required to evaluate the economic feasibility and potential to increase the share of renewable energy.
My master’s thesis focuses on integrating renewable energies into the district heating system of Schwäbisch Hall, a city in Germany. The aim of my research is to understand how different pricing scenarios affect the cost structure, production plan, and share of renewable energies in the district heating system, while maintaining economic feasibility. Additionally, I investigate the system’s sensitivity and resilience to changes in parameters such as electricity and gas prices. The system was analysed, modelled, and simulated using Energy Optima 3, an energy supply optimisation software.
Ten price scenarios were analysed to determine the impact of different electricity and gas prices on a new district heating system with renewable energy compared to the existing system. In five of the ten scenarios, the new system proved to be economically advantageous, showing that it is cheaper to operate and can recover the investment costs. The new system showed economic advantages in scenarios with higher gas prices and lower electricity prices, while its advantage decreased with low gas prices and high electricity prices. Even in less favourable scenarios, the new system performed similarly to the current one, suggesting that integrating renewable energy makes district heating systems more flexible to price changes. This flexibility is crucial as electricity prices can fluctuate more with increased integration of renewables into the grid.
Additionally, the study found that a share of up to 93% renewable energy usage based on local energy sources can be achieved, meeting the legal limits for 2030 and even 2040.
Overall, this work highlights the potential economic outcomes of integrating renewable energy into the district heating system of Schwäbisch Hall and shows how the new system responds to different input prices compared to the current system. It emphasises the complex dynamics of integrating renewable energy. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9163009
- author
- Hermann, Simon LU
- supervisor
-
- Marcus Thern LU
- organization
- course
- MVKM05 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- District Heating, Renewable Energy, Modelling, Optimisation, Pricing Scenarios, Sensitivity Analysis
- report number
- LUTMDN/TMHP-24/5573-SE
- ISSN
- 0282-1990
- language
- English
- id
- 9163009
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-19 09:48:44
- date last changed
- 2024-06-19 09:48:44
@misc{9163009,
abstract = {{In order to decarbonise the heating sector, district heating is seen as an efficient and potentially environmentally friendly approach to achieving the sector's climate targets. Currently, German district heating systems rely predominantly on fossil fuels and utilise combined heat and power plants, which are efficient but not climate neutral. Therefore, the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) is crucial to further reduce the carbon footprint of these systems. To promote this development this year Germany enacted a new law that sets targets for municipal utilities for the future to increase the share of RES. This legislation has an impact on their business models and therefore requires an analysis of its impact on economic feasibility and system operation. District heating systems in Germany are diverse and depend on local energy potentials for the integration of renewable energy. Therefore, an individual assessment of these systems is necessary to evaluate the economic feasibility and the potential to increase the share of renewable energy. The aim of this work is to analyse the integration of renewable energies into the district heating system of Schwäbisch Hall municipal utilities. In particular, it is analysed how different pricing scenarios affect the system's production plan, operating costs and their implications on investment decisions. In addition, it is investigated how the sensitivity of the system to electricity and gas prices changes with the integration of renewable energies, as well as the sensitivity to other input parameters. The system is analysed, modelled and simulated using Energy Optima 3, an energy supply optimisation software. The results show that the economic feasibility varies in the different scenarios, ranging from very favorable to similar performance to the current system. In addition, the new system shows greater resilience to changing input prices compared to the current system and has the potential to achieve a RES share of up to 95% based on the local energy potential.}},
author = {{Hermann, Simon}},
issn = {{0282-1990}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Renewable Energy Integration in German District Heating Systems}},
year = {{2024}},
}