Transition towards Positive Energy District: a case study from Latvia

Abstract

The transition from a fossil fuel-based energy system to renewable energy sources has become a crucial consideration in both national-scale planning processes and local-scale energy system planning. Research has been conducted to seek technical solutions for a specific district of a university campus located on the peninsula of Riga to implement a smart energy system with multiple energy sources, storage systems, and energy efficiency measures. The solutions for the transformation of Energy Island to an Energy Community include power generation by building integrated solar panels with different power storage alternatives, such as thermal storage, batteries, hydrogen, and fuel cells. The simulation also evaluates the potential for heat recovery and waste heat integration from the data center and cooling systems to cover the heat demand. The interlinkage with energy efficiency improvements through improved building management systems provides an opportunity to increase RES utilization rates and improve overall energy efficiency. To provide a holistic overview of the future development of the urban area, the research also compares the connection to the district heating network. Results show that the analyzed energy community can achieve up to 80% of the RES self-consumption level as cost-optimal solutions by combining off-site wind turbine, solar PV panels, water source heat pumps, waste heat recovery and adjusted power storage.