15 - Development of district heating and cooling in the urban planning context

Abstract

Integrating the development of district energy infrastructure into urban planning requires a deep understanding of interactions between the urban fabric, the urban energy system and the main public and private stakeholders involved in planning and implementation of district heating and cooling (DHC) networks. At a technical level, demand-side and supply-side factors have a clear impact on the feasibility or not of such infrastructure. This ranges from thermal energy and power demand density that directly depend on urban planning factors, to multi-layered urban energy system configurations that are suitable for district energy technologies. At an organizational level, the urban planning framework at local level, the ownership structure of district energy system providers, as well as their mission definition, shape the field of interactions between the main stakeholders involved and, therefore, also determine the success or not of a district energy infrastructure project. Successful planning and implementation approaches for such projects are described.