Metamorphoses of cogeneration-based district heating in Romania: A case study

The paper presents the birth and evolution of the cogeneration-based district heating (DH) system in a medium size city in Romania (Targoviste). The evolution of the industrialization degree was the main factor which controlled the population growth and led to a continuous reconfiguration of the DH system. The DH system assisted by cogeneration emerged as a solution in a certain phase of the demographic development of the city. The political and social changes occurring in Romania after 1990 have had important negative consequences on the DH systems in small towns. In Targoviste the DH system survived but in 2001 the solution based on cogeneration became economically inefficient, due to the low technical quality of the existing equipment and the low gas prices, to the procedure of setting the DH tariffs and the service cost at consumer’s level and to some bureaucratic problems. Energy policy measures taken at national and local levels in 2003 and 2005 led to the re-establishment of the cogeneration-based district heating in 2005. However, a different technical solution has been adopted. Details about the present (2009) cogeneration-based DH system in Targoviste are presented together with several technical and economical indicators. The main conclusion is that by a proper amendment of the technical solutions, cogeneration could be a viable solution for DH even in case of abrupt social and demographic changes, such as those occurring in Romania after 1990.     

Geothermal space heating

The use of geothermal resources for space heating dominates the direct use industry, with approximately 37% of all direct use development. Of this, 75% is provided by district heating systems. In fact, the earliest known commercial use of geothermal energy was in Chaudes-Aigues Cantal, France, where a district heating system was built in the 14th century. Today, geothermal district space heating projects can be found in 12 countries and provide some 44,772 TJ of energy yearly. Although temperatures in excess of 50 °C are generally required, resources as low as 40 °C can be used in certain circumstances, and, if geothermal heat pumps are included, space heating can be a viable alternative to other forms of heating at temperatures well below 10 °C.     

Regulating district heating in Romania: Legislative challenges and energy efficiency barriers

Many states in Eastern and Central Europe (ECE) possess extensive district heating (DH) networks that were constructed during the days of communist rule in order to provide a universally accessible energy service that supported Soviet development policies. But the post-communist transition was marked by the exacerbation of the sector’s numerous technical, economic, regulatory and environmental problems, accompanied by its abandonment in favour of alternative methods of domestic heating. Recent efforts to increase the use of DH in ECE as a result of environmental and energy security concerns have taken place in an absence of critical, context-sensitive research.     

Hydrogen underground storage in Romania,potential directions of development,stakeholders and general aspects

Romania is a country with relatively good opportunities to manage the transition from the dependence on fossil energy to an energy industry based on renewable energy sources (RES), supported by hydrogen as an energy carrier. In order to ensure Romania's energy security in the next decades, it will be necessary to consider a fresh approach incorporating a global long-term perspective based on the latest trends in energy systems. The present article focuses on an analysis of the potential use of salt caverns for hydrogen underground storage in Romania. Romanian industry has a long technical and geological tradition in salt exploitation and therefore is believed to have the potential to use the salt structures also in the future for gas and specifically hydrogen underground storage. This paper indicates that more analysis works needs to be undertaken in order to value this potential, based on which macroeconomic decisions then can be taken. The present work examines the structures of today's energy system in Romania and features an analysis of Romania's current potential of hydrogen underground storage as well as, reports on the potential use of this hydrogen in chemical industry, the transport sector and salt industry in Romania and highlighting issues implied by a possible introduction and use of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.     

Geothermal energy in Turkey: 2008 update

Geological studies indicate that the most important geothermal systems of western Turkey are located in the major grabens of the Menderes Metamorphic Massif, while those that are associated with local volcanism are more common in the central and eastern parts of the country. The present (2008) installed geothermal power generation capacity in Turkey is about 32.65 MWe, while that of direct use projects is around 795 MWt. Eleven major, high-to-medium enthalpy fields in western part of the country have 570 MWe of proven, 905 MWe of probable and 1389 MWe of possible geothermal reserves for power generation. In spite of the complex legal issues related to the development of Turkey's geothermal resources, their use is expected to increase in the future, particularly for electricity generation and for greenhouse heating.     

Barriers and enablers to geothermal district heating system development in the United States

According to the US Energy Information Administration, space and hot water heating represented about 20% of total US energy demand in 2006. Given that most of this demand is met by burning natural gas, propane, and fuel oil, an enormous opportunity exists for directly utilizing indigenous geothermal energy as a cleaner, nearly emissions-free renewable alternative. Although the US is rich in geothermal energy resources, they have been frequently undervalued in America's portfolio of options as a means of offsetting fossil fuel emissions while providing a local, reliable energy source for communities. Currently, there are only 21 operating GDHS in the US with a capacity of about 100 MW thermal. Interviews with current US district heating operators were used to collect data on and analyze the development of these systems. This article presents the current structure of the US regulatory and market environment for GDHS along with a comparative study of district heating in Iceland where geothermal energy is extensively utilized. It goes on to review the barriers and enablers to utilizing geothermal district heating systems (GDHS) in the US for space and hot water heating and provides policy recommendations on how to advance this energy sector in the US.     

Analysis and forecasting of nonresidential electricity consumption in Romania

Electricity consumption forecast has fundamental importance in the energy planning of a country. In this paper, we present an analysis and two forecast models for nonresidential electricity consumption in Romania. A first part of the paper is dedicated to the estimation of GDP and price elasticities of consumption. Nonresidential short run GDP and price elasticities are found to be approximately 0.136 and −0.0752, respectively, whereas long run GDP and price elasticities are equal to 0.496 and −0.274 respectively.     

Towards a hydrogen economy in Romania: Statistics,technical and scientific general aspects

The present work features an analysis of the current state of Romania's current policy in the context of hydrogen economy. The possibilities and limitations concerning the transition towards the hydrogen economy in Romania are discussed taking into account a number of aspects, including: the degree of development of the electric power infrastructure, aspects from petrochemical and agrochemical industry, transport infrastructure, socioeconomic development indicators, activity and dynamics of the scientific community and attitude of central authorities. All these are important aspects that contribute to technology deployment. The article presents both advantages and disadvantages from Romania, provides concrete examples, gives information, makes comparisons and provides recommendations, taking into account national aspects. Key areas of promise for hydrogen technologies in Romania are identified. The paper concludes with recommendations for actions in order to begin the process of transition towards a hydrogen economy.     

Assessment of long-term sustainable end-use energy demand in Romania*

Romania is the 10th largest economy in EU-28 and also one of the fastest growing economies in the region. An end-use energy demand model is developed for Romania to assess energy requirement by sector and by end-use for 2015–2050 period. Industry would surpass residential sector as the largest final energy-consuming sector from 2035 onwards. Services sector would exhibit the fastest growth of energy consumption. Despite expected decline in country’s population, demand for electricity would grow in the future driven by increased household income and expanded services sector, which is relatively electricity intensive. Still, Romania’s per capita electricity consumption would be about half of the EU-28 average. At the end-use level, thermal processes in industry, space heating in the residential and services, and road passenger travel in transport sector would be dominant throughout the study period. Improvement of energy efficiency in the heating system exhibits the highest potential of energy saving.     

CHP development in Denmark Role and results

Energy conservation and restructuring towards more energy-efficient technology have been keywords in Danish energy policy in the 1970s and 1980s. This has been reflected especially in domestic heating, where gross energy consumption per square metre has dropped approximately 45% from the early 1970s onwards. This drop is directly related to the massive expansion of combined generation of heat and power (CHP) effected in the same period. Consequently, some 30% of Danish heat requirements are now met by CHP. The intention is to increase this share by a further 7% over the next decade, resulting in a 37% share of Denmark's total heat requirements by CHP in the year 2000.     

散热器与低温地板辐射联网供暖系统设计

针对单热源且同时存在散热器供暖与低温地板辐射供暖联网的供暖系统,分析了混水泵并联管网和带旁通的串联管网两种不同形式的供暖系统各自的结构特点、参数选择和优缺点,并给出了两种系统的适用情况。     

Geothermal applications in Turkey

Geothermal energy is mostly utilised in direct applications in Turkey. The equivalent of 61,000 residences are currently heated by geothermal fluids. A total of 665 MW_t is utilised for space heating of residential, public and private property, and 565,000 m² of greenhouses. Geothermal fluids are also used in 195 spas (327 MW_t), bringing the total direct use capacity to 992 MW_t. ORME Geothermal Inc. has completed the engineering design of a geothermal district heating system that serves the equivalent of nearly 300,000 residences. A total of 170 geothermal fields have been explored so far in Turkey. At Kizildere a single-flash power plant with 20.4 MW_e installed capacity is integrated with a factory producing liquid CO₂ and dry-ice. A binary cycle power plant with an installed capacity of 25 MW_e will be constructed shortly at Aydin/Germencik. The proven geothermal heat capacity, according to data from existing geothermal wells and natural discharges, is 3132 MW_t (I. Akkus, MTA General Directorate, oral communication, January 2003).     

北京平原地热资源与地热供暖

本文对北京平原地区地热资源条件和供暖现状进行了概述,分析了地热供暖技术的特点、优势以及当前制约其推广发展的“瓶颈”,针对北京平原地热资源的可持续发展提出了两点具体建议。     

Geothermal development in Indonesia

Indonesia is particularly fortunate in having an abundance of indigenous resources which allow a choice to be made as to the way the country's future energy demands are met.While coal is expected to be the major replacement of oil in new electricity generation developments, geothermal energy has also been recognised as an alternative in the total energy scene.The Government of Indonesia plans to accelerate the development of geothermal resources as part of its energy policy to become less dependent on fuel oil.Rural electrification is an essential part of the Indonesian Government's policy for improving living conditions in rural areas. For certain areas, small-scale geothermal schemes could be one of the suitable alternatives for generating electricity.     

Geothermal development in Nicaragua

In order to meet national energy requirements, Nicaragua has had to direct its attention towards sources of “alternative energy”, such as geothermal. Excellent geothermal prospects exist in this country, for which reason the Revolutionary Government has deemed it convenient to direct its energy policy towards this alternative source. Studies carried out during past years have led to the selection of nine areas in western Nicaragua, four of which were earmarked Very High Priority because they contain high enthalpy geothermal fields, three areas were earmarked High Priority and only two Low Priority. The positive results obtained in the Momotombo geothermal project have become an incentive to continue research and development nation-wide.At present, a power plant is operating with 35 MW at the Momotombo geothermal field; another 35 MW power plant is under construction in the same field; the El Hoyo-Monte Galan project is in the pre-feasibility phase and surveys are under way throughout national territory.     

Geothermal development in Thailand

San Kampaeng and Fang geothermal areas are considered areas of interest for the exploitation of geothermal energy. The technologies of exploration and development have been studied by Thai scientists and engineers during the past four years. The first geothermal deep exploration well was drilled, in cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in the San Kampaeng geothermal area. In 1985, supplementary work is planned to define the deep structural setting in greater detail before starting to drill the next deep exploration well. In Fang geothermal area some shallow exploitation wells have been drilled to obtain fluid to feed a demonstration binary system of 120 kWe, with the technical cooperation of BRGM and GEOWATT, France. The plant will be installed next fiscal year.     

Combined heat and power in industry and buildings

Combined heat and power (CHP) has huge potential to deliver energy savings and emissions reductions, and in many cases cost reductions too. But the market and regulatory framework is the key to delivering large-scale installations, and government has a poor record in delivering an appropriate framework.     

On the potential trade-offs between energy supply and end-use technologies for residential heating

In Sweden, where district heating accounts for a significant share of residential heating, it has been argued that improvements in end-use energy efficiency may be counter-productive since such measures reduce the potential of energy efficient combined heat and power production. In this paper we model how the potential trade-offs between energy supply and end-use technologies depend on climate policy and energy prices. The model optimizes a combination of energy efficiency measures, technologies and fuels for heat supply and district heating extensions over a 50 year period. We ask under what circumstances improved end-use efficiency may be cost-effective in buildings connected to district heating? The answer hinges on the available technologies for electricity production. In a scenario with no alternatives to basic condensing electricity production, high CO₂ prices result in very high electricity prices, high profitability of combined heat and power production, and little incentive to reduce heat demand in buildings with district heating. In contrast, in a scenario where electricity production alternatives with low CO₂ emissions are available, the electricity price will level out at high CO₂ prices. This gives heat prices that increase with the CO₂ price and make end-use efficiency cost-effective also in buildings with district heating.