These two words have been coupled a lot to talk about the transition to sustainable societies with the EU Green Deal or in the context of the recovery from the global pandemic. They define the aspirations of cities and their citizens, combining two concepts that could seem incompatible in the current context. They are also at the heart of the discussions on the future of district heating and cooling (DHC) when addressing decarbonisation.
Photo by Taylor Vick on Unsplash
Another point of intersection of these terms is waste heat recovery from data centres. A source of heat that could help DHC increase its sustainability and benefit the data centre sector too. In the context of increased EU climate and energy targets, decarbonising heating and cooling will entail more energy efficiency and renewable inclusion. It will also require greater integration within the energy system which means exploiting synergies. Recovering waste heat from data centre does just that: by providing cooling to data centres, and in return extracting heat that can be used in nearby buildings, both data centres and DHC are more efficient and greener.
An increasing number of projects are coming off the ground in cities: from Helsinki to Dublin and Odense (see short list of projects in the paper), but there are still challenges. When considering the potential of urban waste heat and data centre heat in particular[1], it appears key to investigate measures that could further enable the recovery and use of waste heat at the EU, national and local levels. Thus, a group of stakeholders explored the available best practice for waste heat recovery. There was a first workshop in March, followed by a second in June 2020 and the publication of two papers.
Photo by Tapio Haaja on Unsplash
The work continued this year, specifically on waste heat from data centres. DHC and data centres values chains, as well as researchers and cities gathered virtually to discuss proposals to enable more waste heat recovery, in the context of the upcoming proposal to revise the EU Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Directives, as part of the Fit for 55 legislative Package of the European Commission (expected on 14 July 2021).
Out of a workshop that took place at the end of January came a recommendation paper that was published in early June. The paper covers various key aspects of waste heat recovery from data centres such as financing and de-risking, energy planning, capacity building or standards and refers to existing and planned examples of projects:
- Support District Heating development and modernisation
- Better recognise waste heat from data centres in the EU framework
- Foster cooperation, planning and empower the different waste heat actors
- Boost skill training and capacity building
- Integrate waste heat in standard and sectoral guidelines for data centres
This dialogue and cooperation are just a start; the hope is to keep on exchanging to raise awareness and set-up a favourable environment to recover waste heat.
📥Download the paper – See the paper on EHP’s website | on LinkedIn | on Twitter
If you would like to know more or support this initiative, please contact Pauline Lucas – pl@euroheat.org
[1] ReUseHeat project report “Accessible Urban Waste Heat” https://www.reuseheat.eu/project-documents-newsletter/
Related articles
- A “Fit for 55 Package” under the EU Green Deal: an opportunity for DHC
- Excess heat from datacentres: Let your Insta-selfies heat your home
- Excess heat from a datacentre in Val d’Europe, France
Webinar: Cities & the Renovation Wave – Impactful District-Level Approaches
This webinar focuses on how the “Renovation Wave” will provide support to cities and regions when they decarbonise their building stock.
Riga, making a difference in the Baltic countries
The Joint Stock Company (JSC) “RĪGAS SILTUMS” is the biggest District Heating (DH) company in Latvia and in the Baltic countries. The company is...
The EU Renovation Wave, Reenergizing District Energy
As part of the EU Green Deal, the European Commission has announced a Renovation Wave initiative to boost the energy efficiency and the renovation...
Webinar: Local leaders on the front lines
Five star cities presenting their best practices in efficient heating and cooling solutions for a sustainable future.
The European capital goes green with district heating
With a political commitment & the technological potential, Strasbourg aims to reach their energy transition targets with deep geothermal energy and waste heat from Germany.
Vienna shows the way towards a fossil free building stock with climate protection areas
Climate protection areas are showing to be an efficient tool to wean Vienna’s building stock from fossil fuel. From now on, any new buildings in these areas must be supplied with renewable energy or district heating.
Webinar: Financial instruments and success cases
This webinar provided a European perspective on financial investment, from EU’s Urban Agenda Energy Transition Partnership to success cases and transparent green bonds to minimize the risks.
Smart integrated energy project joins the Celsius Initiative
The Horizon 2020 project FlexiGrid joins the Celsius Initiative, benefiting from the great network of integrated energy stakeholders.
Looking at Financing – success stories, challenges and solutions
During the May 2020 Celsius Talk will discuss the barriers cities encounter when looking to finance sustainable energy efficient projects, such as...
Bankability of urban excess heat recovery investments
We summarize some key points from RINA’s analysis of the bankability of urban excess heat recovery investments (from the H2020 Reuseheat project).
Gothenburg, a pioneer in green bonds
This article provides a short introduction to green bonds, using the first city in the world to use green bonds (Gothenburg) as an example.
Positive Energy Districts and Neighbourhoods Call for Proposals
Positive Energy Districts and Neighbourhoods may serve as a crucial contribution to achieve climate and energy targets. This call focuses on exchange of experience between ambitions and initiatives already going on.
European City Facility launches call for proposals
The European City Facility (EUCF) will launch its first call for proposals. All municipalities (local authorities) and their groupings from the EU-27 and UK are encouraged to apply to get support in developing an investment concept and accelerate the implementation of their energy and climate action plans.
IRENA’s Outlook Shows Path for Resilient Economies
The Global Renewables Outlook shows the path to create a sustainable future energy system. This flagship report highlights climate-safe investment options until 2050, the policy framework needed for the transition and the challenges faced by different regions.
Webinar: Low temperature district heating
Low temperature district heating can prove to be an important part in also keeping the globe’s temperature low. This webinar presents some of the opportunities and challenges cities may encounter in their endeavour towards a sustainable and efficient low temperature district heating systems.
Public Consultations for Spring and Summer 2020
In the upcoming weeks and months, a number of public consultations are scheduled with relevance for the Celsius cities. While we will reply to these...
Automated planning and design tool for DH networks
Speed up the planning process and build a solid business case with Comsof Heat, an automated planning and design tool for district heating...
Looking for best practices in efficient DHC
The Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission (DG ENER) has awarded an ambitious study which will provide a thorough, in-depth...
