In 2050, 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities. This means a growing pressure on all resources, where the cities need to become increasingly efficient and self-sufficient in energy.
The city’s energy infrastructure and consumers need to adapt to deliver environmental benefits and lower energy costs. Challenges are to adapt current energy systems into more sustainable ones, and thereby enhance energy efficiency. It is important to address the challenges of security and climate change, and at the same time maintain the competitiveness.
Peter North, Senior Manager,Development and Environment, Greater London Authority (GLA)
30% of London’s emissions of carbon dioxide are due to heating, which is more than transport or electricity production. The best opportunity to reduce the demand for heat by building retrofit and low-carbon heat supply. Also, local heat supply is important. The so-called Mayor’s decentralised energy target is to supply 25% of London’s energy demand from local sources by 2025, for instance from waste heat recovery. A policy outlines the priorities for this: primarily, connection to existing heating or cooling networks, then a broad network for combined heating and cooling (CHP), then communal heating and cooling. This strategy involves an 8-billion-pound investment for the private sector, thus one of the challenges are to lower the barriers for this investment.
So-called decentralised energy is the backbone of this strategy. It involves the generation of electricity close to the demand, and recovery of waste heat for building space heating domestic hot water production. This energy distribution ranges from single sites, with up to 3,000 residential units, up to area wide heat transmission projects, with 100,000+ residential units, with extensive heat pipe networks.
A starting point for this work is to create and use The London Heat Map. It allows users to identify opportunities for district energy projects in London. It identifies major heat loads and supply plants, heat networks, and district energy clusters. The London Heat Map is publicly available, and widely used.
The next step is to create energy master plans, by using the opportunities identified in the heat map. The energy master plan outlines the technical feasibility and the economics of a market-competitive network in a systematic way. In London, the economics of the energy network is compared to gas heating.
Questions from the audience:
- What have been the outcomes for London, as a result of this energy master planning?
- Which energy solutions do you propose to cover the energy for London in 2050?
- What type of auto consumption, and what type of networks?
- What were the main challenges during this master planning?
Date of webinar
February 2016