Intersectoral cooperation and the integration of the electricity and district heating sectors are necessary to utilize the energy balancing and storage potential
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Region/EU, Serbia
Energy from renewable sources, wind and solar, complements the decarbonization of district heating systems, said Bojan Bogdanović from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), who moderated the panel.
Bogdanović: Energy from wind and solar complements the decarbonization of district heating systems
At district heating plants in Serbia, the share of clean energy sources is only about 1.5%, and in the Western Balkan region that share is about 3%, out of a total of 9 GW of installed capacity.
The sector still relies heavily on fossil fuels. To change that, and establish a more sustainable system, it is necessary to integrate heating and cooling systems with the power sector, the panelists agreed. They also stressed the importance of introducing new technologies in district heating systems.
Panelists agree it is necessary to integrate heating and cooling systems with the power sector
This sector can help, more than all others, to decarbonize urban areas, and we must deal with it as part of the energy transition, according to Bogdanović.
In March this year, the European Union published guidelines for the development of energy storage capacities, recommending that countries put special focus on thermal energy storage capacities as providers of balancing services and address them in national energy and climate plans (NECP), Bogdanović noted.
For this reason, the panel on sustainable heating and cooling held at BEF 2023 stressed the need to promote balancing diversification, but also a strategic approach to it, as a key issue for all stakeholders, which must be pursued vigorously.
Aleksandar Latinović, Head of Ancillary Services at Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), said Serbia’s state-owned power utility is trying to make the most out of the inter-sectoral cooperation of the electricity and district heating systems, in terms of concentrated, manageable consumption and the dispatch of excess output from renewable sources.
The strong growth of renewables also brings challenges, according to Latinović. Wind and solar are intermittent energy sources, which creates the two greatest challenges for the electric power system – short- and long-term balancing.
The former refers to balancing power generation in real time, in time intervals of up to one hour, while the latter is the balancing of production and consumption in longer periods – weeks, seasons, years. Latinović said that inter-sectoral cooperation can help solve both of these challenges.
Electricity surpluses from renewables can be converted into heat, so that they can be stored in thermal storage capacities, reducing the use of fossil fuels in heating, he explained.
In this way the lowest price of electricity from renewables could be limited in case of significant electricity surpluses in the power system.
That would reduce the risk for financiers of renewable energy projects as their clients would have more predictable energy sales, making it easier for them to repay loans, he added.
On the other hand, thermal energy storage and the electrification of district heating are significant for EPS in terms of manageable electricity consumption, which can provide significant amounts of balancing reserves.
A study commissioned by EPS, which was based on renewables development scenarios, showed that balancing the system beyond 2030 will require reserves of about 1 GW.
Balancing the power system beyond 2030 will require reserves of about 1 GW
New thermal storage capacities would help boost balancing reserves through manageable consumption at facilities that would convert electricity into heat, according to him.
Latinović: New thermal storage capacities would help increase the balancing reserve through manageable consumption
Latinović stressed the importance of linking the power and district heating sectors, in order to increase renewables integration.
EPS also sees this process as an opportunity to remain a leader in the provision of balancing services, while it can also achieve the lowest possible cost of renewables integration, ensuring in turn the lowest price of energy for consumers.
Also, all new renewable energy projects seeking grid connection will be required to provide 200 kW of new balancing capacity for each installed megawatt of intermittent renewable sources, said Latinović.
He also hopes that financiers will recognize the potential of investing in thermal energy storage, mainly given that such projects could reduce risks in financing variable renewables.
Dušan Macura, Head of Production and Distribution at the Novi Sad District Heating Company (Novosadska toplana) agreed it is necessary to establish inter-sectoral cooperation between electric power and district heating systems, as is the strategic course of modern district energy systems. We are now expected to make existing district energy systems sustainable, he said.
Solar thermal technology with seasonal heat storage has become conventional, Macura said, noting that it has been demonstrated and proven in practice in Denmark, Germany, and France.
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