Large-scale heat pumps for district heating systems in the Baltics: Potential and impact

A. Volkova, H. Koduvere and H. Pieper

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2022, vol. 167, issue C

Abstract: The current state of power-to-heat integration into the heat supply in the Baltics is examined. In the socio-economic analysis, three scenarios for prospective district heating electrification development in the Baltic countries until 2050 were investigated and compared: Baseline scenario, Grid Tariff scenario, and Investment Support scenario. Large-scale HPs were analysed as key future technologies. Furthermore, the results are focused on excess heat and renewable thermal energy sources used for heat supply, as well as expanding the representation of DH areas. In 2050, large-scale HPs will generate more than half of the heat for the Baltic states in the Baseline scenario, while biomass plants will generate one-third. One of the dominating fossil fuels in heat supply (natural gas) consumption should gradually decrease from 7.9 TWh in 2020 to 1.4 TWh in the same period. Large HPs generated the lowest quantity of heat in the Grid Tariff scenario. The current network tariffs in each of the Baltic countries, it may be inferred, are an impediment to the introduction of HPs. In 2050, only up to 1/4 of thermal energy will be produced by large-scale HPs. Investments in large-scale HPs are half-subsidised in the Investment Support scenario, which greatly affects the introduction of HPs, and, according to this scenario, in 2050, up to 68% of heat will be produced via HPs in the Baltic states. Detailed results are presented for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Keywords: District heating; Large heat pumps; Low-temperature district heating; Wastewater plants; Seawater heat; Energy planning; P2H; Power-to-heat; District heating electrification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032122006360
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:167:y:2022:i:c:s1364032122006360

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 600126/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2022.112749

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is currently edited by L. Kazmerski

More articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().