District Heating and Cooling

Published by ENGIE , S.A

Infrastructure type(s)
Other

Intervention domain(s)
Renewable Energy

Keyword(s)
Heating Efficiency Renewable energy Low energy consumption Cold Heat Energy efficiency Non-residential buildings Primary energy Final energy

Description

Climaespaço and the ENGIE Group were responsible for the introduction of the concept of centralized distribution of thermal energy on an urban scale, in Portugal. The Parque das Nações network is the first infrastructure of its kind built in the country. As a result of a wide combination of innovative technologies in the field of thermal energy production and distribution, this energy is produced in a trigeneration plant. The cold production equipment is cooled by water captured in the Tejo river and returned to the river without any environmental impact.
The energy supplied is produced in a HIGH EFFICIENCY TRIGERATION CENTER. The concept of trigeneration consists of the simultaneous production of three forms of final energy - cold, heat and electricity - from a primary energy source, in this case natural gas. Electricity is produced in a gas turbine, whose residual heat is recovered, giving rise to cold water and hot water.
Triggeration takes advantage of the heat released at the outlet of the turbine. Thus, an important amount of energy is recovered that would otherwise be dissipated in the environment.
This energy is used to heat and cool buildings, as well as to produce hot domestic water. It is also used for many other purposes, such as heating swimming pools or cooling the tanks at the "Oceanário de Lisboa". In this way, an important efficiency gain is obtained, minimizing the consumption of primary energy and polluting emissions, namely carbon dioxide.
In a rapidly changing world, urban cold and heat networks are the ideal solution to the energy transition challenge. Being served by a network, the city instantly benefits from any technological innovation or new energy source introduced into the system. A modernization that would take decades to materialize if instead of the network there were thousands of conventional equipment scattered throughout the city.

Documentos associados
Parque das Nações District Heating and Cooling
Climaespaço