EUROPEAN UNION
EUROPEAN REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENT FUND
Regional strategies
for the large scale
introduction of geothermal
energy in buildings
The results of GEO.POWER project
Regional strategies
for the large scale
introduction of
geothermal energy
in buildings
The results of
GEO.POWER project
edited by Marco Meggiolaro,
on behalf of the Province of Ferrara
Provincia
di Ferrara
with the support of
Beatrice M.S Giambastiani
and Thalia Carr
GEO.POWER project “Geothermal energy to
address energy performance strategies in
residential and industrial buildings” is co-financed
by the European Regional Development Fund in the
frame of the INTERREG IVC Programme.
This publication reflects the views only of the
author, and the Authorities of the INTERREG IVC
Programme cannot be held responsible for any
use which may be made of information contained
therein.
www.geo.power-i4c.eu
EUROPEAN UNION
EUROPEAN REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENT FUND
www.i4c.eu
Ferrara,
the Castle,
venue of the
Province
For a green growth of European cities
Each generation is confronted with new challenges
In this frame, it is important that the public authori-
and new opportunities. Together with the climate
ties understand their role in promoting the switch to
change, energy is one of the most important issue of
the renewable sources and near-zero-carbon energy
the 21st Century.
patters. The role of the policy makers is to mark the
The current global energy consumption is equivalent
to 13 terawatts (TW), that is, a steady 13 trillion watts
way, to communicate the economic, social and environmental benefits and support green investments.
of power demand and the global energy demand will
GEO.POWER, on the basis of a close cooperation
be about 30 percent higher in 2040 compared to
between public administrations and R&D agencies
2012. How long can we keep running this road?
of eleven European Countries, aimed at boosting
Meeting the increasing demand for energy poses
many challenges: increasing efficiency, developing
new supplies and safeguarding the environment.
Technology will play a critical role in meeting these
the technological progress and strengthening the
regulatory fiscal and incentive instruments that are
necessary for the development of low enthalpy geothermal energy in the members regions.
challenges, while Countries, regions and cities need
The hope is that GEO.POWER - after having addressed
to find innovative ways of generating and distribut-
a set of local strategies encouraging the heat pump
ing power on a large scale.
domestic markets - could trigger multiplier effects in
The European Union is putting in place an ambitious energy policy covering the full range of energy
sources from fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) to re-
all members regions, contributing, albeit in small but
meaningful measure, to reduce fossil fuel emissions
towards a greener growth of European cities.
newables (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric and tidal) - in a bid to spark a new industrial
revolution that will deliver a low-energy economy,
whilst making the energy we do consume more secure, competitive and sustainable.
Marcella Zappaterra,
President of the Province of Ferrara
Solidarity works!
How European regions improve thanks to cooperation
If all the experience accumulated through European
interregional cooperation projects from 2008 on-
You cannot help but learn more as you take
wards was that piece of clay, one could notice a va-
the world into your hands. riety of ‘thumbprints’ left by 2,367 project partners
Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of
from all over Europe. Each project partner, mainly
clay, with millions of thumbprints on it. a local, regional or national public authority, has
brought along unique experience to the 204 projects
John Updike
co-financed by the European Regional Development
Fund. These projects enable co-operation on policy
So what can gathering of good practices and ex-
level, e.g. helping small and medium-size enterpris-
changing policy tools achieve? Thanks to POWER
es open up to innovation, adapting employment ser-
project the Estonian government introduced into the
vices to the fast-changing economic environment,
national Transport Action Plan energy/CO2 labeling
ensuring information and communication technolo-
of cars and a green energy certificate scheme for
gies reach even the most remote areas.
electric cars. GraBS project enabled London Borough
Among the popular wind, hydro- and solar energy
projects, GEO.POWER stands out as the only project exploring the potential of geothermal energy. In
a world where any alternative to fossil fuel is welcome, we are proud to support GEO.POWER partners in planning long-term investments that will
ensure sustainable heating and cooling of both
residential and industrial buildings. We hope that
of Sutton (UK) and Klaipeda (Lithuania) to learn from
Malmö City (Sweden) about the benefits of green
and blue infrastructure in mitigating climate change
effects (e.g. green roofs, wetlands). So far 233 good
practices have been adapted and transferred to new
regions, and just as many local, regional and national policy instruments have been improved thanks to
INTERREG IVC. And we are still counting…
other European regions follow their example. Check
Zornitsa Tsoneva,
upon initiatives collected by GEO.POWER part-
Project & Communication Adviser
ners in the INTERREG IVC good practice database:
INTERREG IVC Programme
http://www.interreg4c.eu/findGoodpractices.html.
GEO.POWER
workshop in
Reading (UK)
Summary
GEO.POWER: boosting low enthalpy
geothermal energy investments through
capitalization processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1. The heat pump market transformation
in the EU2020 Strategy framework . . . . . . . . 8
1.1 Transformation of the European ground
source heat pump market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2 Geothermal energy in Europe:
legal framework, opportunities and future
challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2. Capitalizing successful experiences to
address GCHP investments in Europe. . . . . 18
2.1 Geothermal applications in public,
commercial, agricultural and residential
buildings: outstanding cases. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 How investments in GCHP can be a cost
efficient action to increase a regions energy
efficiency and use of RES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3 Reproducing GCHP investments:
a common methodology to evaluate the
degree of success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3. Local strategies
for the large scale introduction of GCHP
in the GEO.POWER regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Encouraging GCHP market:
the Action Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Conclusions
GEO.POWER: a bridge towards
the EU 20-20-20 energy objectives . . . . . . . 54
4
Authors
Mauro Monti
Province of Ferrara
Marco Meggiolaro
EURIS srl, on behalf of the Province of Ferrara, Lead Partner
David Matthews
UK Ground Source Heat Pump Association
Philippe Dumas, Luca Angelino
European Geothermal Energy Council
Dimitrios Mendrinos
Centre for Renewable Energy Resources and Saving
Oskar Raftegard
SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
Beatrice M.S Giambastiani, Micòl Mastrocicco
Earth Sciences Department, University of Ferrara
with the contribution of
Thalia Carr, Kirstin Coley
Reading Borough Council
Zita Dibáczi, Veronika Erős
National Environmental Protection and Energy Center Non-Profit Ltd
Zoltan Karacsonyi, András Ibrányi, Tamás Buday, Valeria Szabó Észak-Alföld Regional Energy Agency Nonprofit LLC, Hungary
Erik Björk
Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Luca Martelli, Fabio Molinari, Maria Carla Centineo
Emilia-Romagna Region
Alvar Soesoo, Uku Sukles
Institute of Geology at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
Ben Laenen, Eva De Boever, David Lagrou
VITO – Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Belgium
Joerg Prestor, Dušan Rajver, Andrej Lapanje, Simona Pestotnik
Geological Survey of Slovenia
5
GEO.POWER: boosting low enthalpy geothermal energy
investments through capitalization processes
Mauro Monti, Marco Meggiolaro
Geothermal energy, that is the energy extracted from
Therefore, as stressed by the UE Energy Roadmap to
heat stored in the earth, is one of the most environ-
2050, a broad diffusion of this type of energy source
mentally-friendly and cost-effective energy sources
could bring a concrete contribution to decarbonise
with potential to help mitigate global warming and re-
the European economy and meet the targets of re-
place fossil fuels if widely deployed. The IPCC Special
ducing the GHG emissions by 20% by 2020 and by
Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate
80-95% by 2050 (compared to 1990 levels).
Change Mitigation (source, IPCC 2010) compares the
lifecycle GHG emissions for broad categories of electricity generation technologies and highlights, among
other things, the huge potential of the geothermal energy in reducing the GHG emissions.
Recent technological progress, the variability of the
cost, the difficulty of oil and gas supply from foreign
countries and the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels to cut pollution have made the exploitation of geo-
The 20-20-20
European target
thermal energy, especially low-enthalpy power generation utilizing GCHP (Ground Coupled Heat Pumps),
an attractive and viable energy alternative.
Nevertheless, the European Commission points out
that this sector is not doing enough to exploit the po-
Advances in technology have dramatically ex-
tential of renewable energy sources (RES), emphasis-
panded the range and size of viable resources,
ing that increased electricity and heat generation from
especially for applications such as home heat-
geothermal resources will partially avoid the need for
ing and cooling, opening up the potential for wide-
new fossil fuel power generation. Geothermal heating
spread exploitation such as geothermal energy
and cooling still need research and development over
applications to curb energy consumption of indus-
the next few years, notably to improve the efficiency
try and small and medium enterprises, that are
of the systems and to decrease installation and oper-
the most exposed to the energy price fluctuation.
ational costs. However, the main barrier to increased
geothermal deployment is a lack of appropriate financial incentives and legislation (particularly relevant
to the new build market where house-builders must
install a certain number of energy efficiency and RES
measures to obtain planning permission) as well as
on both EU and local level.
Hence, the European Commission, in the Renewable
Energy Road Map, encourages member states and
Study visit at
ENI power-plant,
Italy
6
their local authorities to apply and implement concrete measures in order to improve energy production
and distribution, to facilitate financing and investment
strategy (covering several aspects such as the tech-
in the green sector, and to encourage and consolidate
nological transfer, the definition of subsidy schemes
rational energy consumption behaviour, with the final
and the training of personnel) for the large scale intro-
aim of making Europe the world leader in renewable
duction of GCHP in the members’ regions. Therefore,
energy and low-carbon technologies.
the action plans enable partner regions to overcome
GEO.POWER is set against this background. The partnership, composed of twelve partners from nine EU
countries under the coordination of the Province of
Ferrara (IT), being aware of the energy challenges
mentioned above, has implemented a two-year capitalisation project under the INTERREG IVC programme
aiming at evaluating the reproducibility of some of the
some legislation gaps concerning the compliance
with the EU Building Performance Directive and to
contribute towards achieving
the EU “20-20-20”
goals as well as the international obligations set in the
Kyoto and Copenhagen agreements. A concise summary of these local strategies is provided in chapter 3
of this book.
most outstanding examples of best practice cur-
The project actions, resulting in the development of
rently existing in Europe for the utilisation of low-en-
one Action Plan per GEO.POWER region shared with
thalpy energy, mainly related to the so called ground-
the Managing Authorities of the Structural Funds, en-
coupled heat pumps (GCHP). The project objectives
ables partners’ regions to fill in some legislation gaps
are (a) to exchange the partners’ own experiences on
concerning energy performance and – once launched
geothermal energy production through GCHP to sup-
subsidies schemes to support new GCHP installa-
port the weakest regions to implement large scale
tions for residential and industrial buildings - to ful-
investments; (b) to fill the legislation gaps in the geo-
fil the provisions set in the EU Building Performance
thermal energy sector to address a favourable (politi-
Directive and RES Directive, contributing – in the
cal and normative) context to attract investment; (c)
latest stage - to achieving the EU “20-20-20” objec-
to profile an integrated package of final incentives and
tive as well as the international climate agreements
technical measures in the frame of the forthcoming
signed in Kyoto and Copenhagen.
Regional Operational Programme in the period post
2013, where large amount of funds (currently under
negotiations) will be dedicated to co-finance energy
efficiency and carbon-free energy projects.
The European
Commission
This publication, after introducing the heat pump
market transformation in the EU2020 Strategy framework, explains how twelve partners have capitalised
some successful experiences to address GCHP in-
In GEO.POWER the necessary implementation meas-
vestments in their regions, illustrating some possible
ures are outlined in one action plan per project area,
pathways towards low-carbon energy systems in
to be later on financed through regional and national
Europe.
mainstream programmes or future regional financial instruments. The action plan consists of a local
7
1. The heat pump market transformation
1
Transformation of the European ground source
heat pump market
David Matthews
Introduction
Transforming a market sector requires a series of
interventions which include legislative, economic,
“If a psychologist was confronted with
technical and marketing. The end user, whether do-
the same situation with a patient they
mestic or commercial, has to be at the heart of this
transformation process. They have to be engaged in
wouldn’t shout or bombard them with
a positive manner to embrace the change as signifi-
all kinds of facts about their damaging
cantly beneficial to their own lives. So far, much of
or destructive behaviour. They would
the focus has been on transforming the heat pump
policy or engineering and, whilst this has to continue,
actively try to work out ways to mobi-
we must now also fully engage the end user in the
lise their ability to respond constructi-
positive benefits of a warm, comfortable and cheap-
vely. We need to find a way to commu-
to-heat home.
nicate these issues with people in an
Heat remains the poor man of the energy industry.
honest and realistic way that doesn’t
Time and again when referring to energy matters
commentators are only concerned with electricity
trigger anxiety.” [1]
and yet heat energy accounts for 48% of Europe’s
energy consumption. Therefore action needs to be
urgently taken to reduce the carbon output associated with heat matters.
The first step in this process is energy efficiency
measures; reducing the heat demand through more
insulation, draught-proofing and improving the heating controls provides both increased comfort and
reduced bills. However, this is a law of diminishing
returns. Whilst
the heat loss through the fabric of the building can be
minimised, both the hot water and ventilation needs
of the property remain essential elements that need
to be supplied into the property.
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/301036/the_psychology_of_climate_change_why_we_do_nothing.html
1
8
Ground source
heat pump with
horizontal ground
loop in England
(courtesy of Kensa
Engineering)
in the EU2020 Strategy framework
The heating supply options remain relatively limited:
source on the market. Therefore, unless there are
electrical, a boiler, combined heat and power (CHP),
some major new and unforeseen innovations, heat
solar water heating, biomass, ASHPs and the sub-
pump technology should be seen as the first choice
ject of this article GSHPs. All of the technologies
heating system for the future heating requirements
on this list have their limitations as compared to
of Europe with GSHPs as the superior system to be
GSHP which remains, if carefully implemented, the
used wherever feasible.
cheapest-to-run low carbon low maintenance heat
Where is the GSHP market today?
Comparing across some international boundaries,
Mature markets have codes of practice, standards &
data from 2007) highlighted the following:
training in place.
Country
Number
Installed
Austria
23,000
Canada
36,000
Germany
40,000
1996
Sweden
200,000
1980
Switzerland
25,000
1980
UK
3,000
USA
600,000
Date started
On a country-by-country basis, there are 3 types of
GSHP sectors:
•
1996
About 20 to 25% of Swedish homes use a heat pump.
•
•
Advanced markets where there is considerable
market penetration and the market is supported
by codes of practice, standards and training.
Medium sized markets such as Austria, Germany
and Switzerland that are in the process of transformation to becoming advanced markets.
Low penetration markets such as the UK which
need considerable intervention.
Transformation lessons for the low penetration markets can be learned from the advanced markets.
The following table shows how the UK Market has developed in recent years (source BSRIA)
2008
2009
2010
Growth
2009/10
Ground/ water to water
3,980
3,980
3,590
-9.8%
Air to water
3,280
8,325
11,840
42.2%
Exhaust air/ water (combined with
heat recovery)
1,300
4,150
3,050
-26.5%
Total
8,560
16,455
18,480
12.3%
These British HP sales figures clearly demonstrate
2011 & 2012, have been exacerbated by strictly
that without effective and consistent market inter-
controlled Government interventions through the
ventions, it is easy to see sales drop as well as in-
Renewable Heat Incentive for the commercial GSHP
crease across a market sector. In the British case,
sector and Renewable Heat Premium Payments for
government policy favoured ASHP over GSHP and
the domestic GSHP sector. Both policies are cur-
so the national market responded accordingly. These
rently under review so that they lead to growth for
reducing sales, which decelerated further through
commercial & domestic rather than falling sales.
9
Barriers and Drivers for transformation
of the European GSHP industry
To transform a renewable energy market, five measures need to be in place, 3 policy measures supported by 2 flanking measures which engage the
industrial sector and the general public. The 3 policy
measures are:
sector is skilled at installing gas & oil boilers and
general building works. However, except for a
few pockets of competent installers, it does not
have much experience of the particular needs of
portant to the existing properties market and
heat pumps and the grounds works associated
need to be set at a level just above the limit which
with ground collector installation. Good design
tips the end user over into a purchasing decision.
and installation courses need to be provided
new build market whereby housebuilders must
install a certain amount of energy efficiency and
renewable energy measures to obtain planning
permission.
3. Quality schemes. In many EU member states,
the construction industry is frequently associated with low quality workmanship and
make-money-fast traders. Quality certification
schemes such as the pan-European Qualicert
scheme (http://www.qualicert-project.eu/) can
assist in bringing together diverse qualification
requirements and build customer confidence in
registered installers.
10
1. Training. The building services and construction
1. Financial incentives. These are especially im-
2. Regulation. This is particularly relevant to the
Training moment
during the GEO.
POWER workshop
in Ferrara
The 2 flanking measures are:
by the training sector to address these market
gaps. The Oklahoma University led International
Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA)
has trained some of the senior ground collector
technology experts and European academics
and ground source experts are driving the development of the Geotrainet ground source training
materials (http://www.geotrainet.eu).
2. Public awareness. This could be considered
the most important of the above 5 measures.
Engaging the customer in the purchasing decision is the point where market growth and transformation occurs.
Various reports have been written on market transformation. The barriers in the Renewable Heating
Action Plan for Europe were listed as:
•
•
large upfront investment cost
•
owner
•
•
•
Return on Investment (ROI) cost not including
fuel inflation
–
tenant
dilemma
i.e.
rented
accommodation
low awareness leading to low demand and low
demand leading to low awareness
Renewable Energy Sources – Heat (RES – H)
still considered “exotic”
lack of critical mass
The investment cost issues and ROI need to be address by financial incentive schemes. The third point,
the owner-tenant dilemma points at an important
issue; there are many segments in the European
housing market such as:
•
•
•
•
social housing
Well drilling
(courtesy of
Geothermal
International
GSHPA)
private rented housing
private mass-market housing
private upmarket housing
Looking again at the UK again as an example of a
Well drilling (courtesy of Geothermal International
low penetration GSHP market, some market pen-
GSHPA) department responsible for energy issues
etration is happening in both the social housing sec-
is consulting with industry on ideas for “communi-
tor where housing associations can intervene in the
ty” schemes to work with groups of middle income
market and also in the private upmarket housing
homeowners for the uptake of renewable heating
sector where senior members of society have the
schemes. Obviously, each European market has its
financial resources and time available to engage in
own history of market penetration and the signifi-
upgrading their properties to include the latest high
cant penetration of GSHP into the Swedish market is
tech heating systems. The middle 2 sectors, rented
based on the limited natural gas supply and the ex-
houses and mass-market houses are the most dif-
cellent support provided by the partnership between
ficult to penetrate and so the British government
Government, industry and academia.
11
Probably the most interesting report on transform-
engaged through advertising in local media sup-
ing the renewable heating industry was an SEA/
ported by local government and good energy advice.
RENUE report called “Barriers on installing DSHW
It talks about emotionally engaging the customer in
systems” . Whilst this is a “solar” report, its conclu-
their purchasing decision and potentially using case
sions are relevant to the whole renewable heating
studies to start this process. This can be especially
sector as follows:
important in markets where the customer aspires
[2]
•
•
•
•
•
•
older, home owners with higher status (not income)
to have the best bathroom and kitchen and yet will
are the innovators for this technology (http://
scrimp and save on the building services elements
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_​innovations)
of the property. Finally, it highlights the importance
adverts in local press backed by local authority
of training installers in customer care. It is the soft
are effective
customer service skills that can actually make the
visiting fairs etc. is not so important
difference to installation companies in growing vi-
effective marketing emphasises the following:
able and thriving GSHP enterprises. •
•
•
saving money
future proofing
environmental reasons to target groups
increase emotional involvement of client with installation to build momentum
the financial incentive to support a typical GSHP
system has to be around €5000 to €7500. (this
will vary somewhat depending on different market conditions and is a useful starting point for
•
•
•
•
•
Government & industry discussions)
install when heating system being refurbished
group installations for economies of scale
Energy
energy change rate for each country. Most of these
will have significant ambitions for GSHP penetra-
able heat in 2010 to 12% renewable heat in 2020.
Currently the country which has about 26 million
To reach this 12% target, by 2020 it will need to fit
train installers in customer care
in
gets. The diagram below highlights the renewable
homes fits about 1.5 million gas boilers per annum.
target new build
info
ments for heat pump penetration to meet 2020 tar-
again, the country wants to move from 1% renew-
arrange low-interest loans
disseminate
Each member state has its own targets and require-
tion. Using the British low penetration market model
to alleviate cost issues (the major barrier):
•
•
•
Practical potential
for heat pumps by 2020[3]
Efficiency
&
Renewable Energy Advice Centres
and use case studies of existing customers
200,000 heat pumps per annum and have 1.2 million systems installed. A large majority of these heat
pumps will need to be ground source units. To facilitate this heat pump growth, the country needs to
This report is useful in that it addresses the public
reduce its electricity grid intensity from 0.54 kgCO2/
awareness issue highlighted above. It highlights
kWh to 0.48 kgCO2/kWh. This example and data
cost as the major barrier and suggests routes for
is provided as it is anticipated that most member
addressing these costs. It names the size of the fi-
states have somewhat similar scenarios with low
nancial incentive so that policymakers have a clear
market penetration, the need for codes of practice
indication of what size of market intervention is re-
standards and training and grid carbon intensities
quired. It has direct recommendations about how
that require further attention.
important the local issue is and how this can be
2
3
12
SEA/RENUE report “Barriers to installing Domestic Solar Hot Water Systems” 6th November 2005. Available on application to Carbon
Descent http://www.carbondescent.org.uk/
Heating and Hot Water Pathways 31st March 2010 available - http://www.idhee.org.uk/HHTF.pdf
Conclusion
Many European GSHP markets are on the cusp of
changing from a low penetration market to a medi-
•
The future holds a significant technology
change for GSHP technology. Because they are
um sized market. Many initiatives such as Qualicert
an electrically powered technology, potentially
and training are either in place or being further devel-
heat pumps, especially GSHPs can act as a grid
oped. And yet these markets are still on the cusp of
smoothing technology absorbing excess power
change. Further initiatives are required such as:
at times of low demand and storing this excess
•
•
•
Adequate financial incentives need to be pro-
power as heat either in the building fabric or a
vided for both the domestic and commercial
heat store. This should enable low electricity
sectors.
costs for the low demand electricity and so the
Regulation for new and existing buildings needs
smart grid and intelligent grid control can act as
to have more teeth so that it drives the highest
a major boost for the uptake of ground source
efficiency building service solutions and simpli-
technology.
fies planning requirements.
The training sector needs to include architects,
specifiers, designers and engineers as the beneficiaries of its knowledge and improve customer
•
care.
However, future developments must not be a used
a brake on installing the technology today. GSHP
systems are mature market ready technologies that
need to be widely employed across Europe now.
The domestic and commercial end user needs
to be fully engaged in this process. They are the
decision point and they need the information,
confidence and emotional involvement to be fully committed to transforming the heating sector
from fossil fuels to low carbon heat sources.
13
2
Geothermal energy in Europe:
legal framework, opportunities and future challenges
Philippe Dumas, Luca Angelino
Introduction to the EU
legal framework
In January 2007, the European Commission put forward strategic objectives to guide “An Energy Policy
for Europe”: [4]
•
•
•
Increasing security of energy supply;
Promoting environmental sustainability;
Ensuring the competitiveness of European economies and the affordability of energy supply;
This policy agenda was supported by heads of state
and government that in March 2007 have committed
Industrial
heat pumps
to achieving the following goals by the year 2020:
•
A reduction of at least 20% in greenhouse gas
•
(GHG) emissions compared to 1990 levels;
It is therefore worth stressing that the vast majority
20% of the final energy consumption to come
(81%) of heat is currently being generated by burning
from renewable sources;
fossil fuels, whereas cooling is still predominantly
An improvement of energy efficiency by 20%.
produced from electricity-driven processes and,
•
therefore, also largely relies on coal or gas. No sur-
Eventually, a legislative climate and energy package
prise that current heating and cooling systems are
was adopted and the so-called 20-20-20 targets
not only boosting costly imports of fossil fuels into
were fully integrated into the Europe 2020 strategy.
Europe, but are also major contributors to the overall
[5]
A need for change was evident across the whole energy sector, yet it appeared to be even more urgent
It is against this background that geothermal energy,
for the heating and cooling sector. Albeit it is often
per definition the energy stored in the form of heat
a neglected area of the energy policy, heating and
beneath the surface of solid earth, will play a much
cooling is by far the largest energy end-use sector as
more important role in the future and will contribute
it represents nearly half the final energy consump-
to achieving all major objectives of the EU’s energy
tion in the European Union (EU).
policy.
COM(2007)1
COM(2010) 2020
4
5
14
EU’s GHG emissions.
Ground source heat pumps:
a key technology in the European energy systems
Geothermal is fully recognised to be a safe, reliable,
Nowadays, geothermal heating and cooling is no
and renewable energy source. It can produce heat
longer exotic and the GSHP technology is well un-
and power around the clock, therefore without the
derstood. Nevertheless, lack of awareness in some
variability typical of other renewables, and its poten-
regions and other market distortions have so far lim-
tial in Europe is huge.
ited its market penetration, with notable exceptions
In this regard, Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs)
are a modern technology for heating and cooling
in Sweden, Switzerland and Germany (see foregoing
article for further details).
capable of harnessing geothermal energy at shal-
Although only a small portion of geothermal po-
low depths virtually everywhere. A heat pump can
tential is being used in Europe today, in line with
be used to raise the temperature of underground
the 20/20/20 targets the future of geothermal heat
heat when it is at a level lower than required by the
pumps looks brighter. As shown in the Figure below,
heating system. The ground can easily be used for
according to the national renewable energy action
cooling, also, with combined heating and cooling
plans (NREAPs) [6] the renewable energy produced
systems increasing the economy of such a project.
from GSHPs will increase from 1.5 Mtoe in 2010 to
In this case, heat is rejected into the ground, either
5.4 Mtoe by 2020. This would amount to a total of
by running the heat pump in reverse, or by directly
about 2 million new units installed in 10 years (from
coupling the building circuit to the ground circuit.
1 Mio GSHPs installed at the end of 2010 [7] to more
than 3 Mio units in 2020).
6
7
Article 4 of the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) required Member States to submit national renewable energy action plans
by 30 June 2010. These plans were intended to provide detailed roadmaps of how each Member State expects to reach its legally
binding 2020 target for renewable energy, including sectoral targets and the technology mix they expect to use.
Heat Pump Barometer, Eurobserv’er, September 2011.
15
The Figure at side illustrates the breakdown by
member states and clearly highlights their different
level of ambition. If certain countries such as UK and
Sweden indeed plan an important development with
over 950 and 800 ktoe respectively, others such as
Bulgaria, Malta and Portugal do not foresee any development at all with a 2020 target of 0 ktoe!
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that statistics provided
do not appear to be too accurate; as a matter of fact,
the number of installations is unknown for many
NREAPs whereas some member states did not
even follow the EC template and do not distinguish
between the different heat pump systems. Overall,
the above picture shows a future for GSHPs which is
promising, though its details are still not completely
unveiled.
Exchange of
experiences during
the GEO.POWER
workshop in
Reading (UK)
16
Regulatory measures and future challenges
Along with EU-wide and binding national targets, a
number of accompanying measures have been put
•
Information and training – According to Article
14 of Directive 2009/28/EC member states shall
in place so as to deliver the expected results by 2020.
ensure that information is made available to all
In this regard, the Renewable Energy (2009/28/EC)
relevant actors about support measures, net
and the Recast Energy Performance of Buildings
benefits and cost as well as guidance or training
(2010/31/EU) directives as well as the recently ap-
programmes. For installers of shallow geother-
proved Energy Efficiency Directive are key pieces of
mal systems, certification schemes or equiva-
EU legislation for the promotion of GSHPs.
lent qualification schemes need to be available
In fact, these Directives set a stable regulatory
by the end of 2012.
framework with a range of measures designed, inter
If correctly implemented into national legislation
alia, to overcome non-technical barriers and other
and supported by continuous R&D, the new EU le-
market distortions:
gal framework should allow GSHPs to seize the
•
•
Administrative procedures – Article 13 of
opportunity for market growth. In the longer-term,
Directive 2009/28/EC puts in place requirements
however, this could be insufficient to trigger a real
to streamline and reduce the burden of the au-
breakthrough. To this end, the main challenge for the
thorisation procedures;
sector is to design a future heat market with open
Promotion of renewable energy in buildings
and fair competition between all technologies in or-
– Article 13(4)-(6) of Directive 2009/28/EC lay
der to provide European citizens with affordable en-
new obligations on member states to increase,
ergy for heating.
where appropriate, the use of renewable energy
in buildings, place specific requirements on public buildings to fulfil an exemplary role from 2012
onwards, and require member states to promote
renewable energy technologies that contribute
to a significant reduction of energy consump-
Today, gas and oil (mazout) prices are often fixed by
National authorities through social tariffs. The main
consequence of those measures is that the final
price of conventional sources of energy is always
below its real cost.
tion, among which heat pumps fulfilling the
minimum requirements of eco-labelling for heat
pumps (2007/742/EC).
Overall, as the cost of fossil fuels increase and their
external costs are internalised (CO2 tax, ETS etc.),
In addition, Article 2 of Directive 2010/31/EU intro-
geothermal becomes not only a genuine and renew-
duces for the first time in the EU law the concept of
able, but also a more competitive energy source in
“nearly zero-energy building”, i.e. a building that has
the EU’s energy mix.
a very high energy performance, whose amount of
energy required should be covered to a very significant extent from energy from renewable sources. All
new buildings shall become nearly zero-energy by
2020, while all public buildings two years beforehand
(by 2018).
17
2. Capitalizing successful experiences to
1
Geothermal applications in public, commercial, agricultural
and residential buildings: outstanding cases
Dimitrios Mendrinos
Controlling the indoor environment where people
Transforming local, regional and national heating
reside, function or work is one of our basic needs
and cooling markets from fossil fuel based to re-
improving our everyday comfort and living condi-
newable energy based is one effective solution to
tions. Traditionally, heating has been done by burn-
the problem. It is a must-do that local communities
ing fossil fuels, which release to the atmosphere
cannot afford to miss. The renewable energy source
large quantities of carbon dioxide, the primary gas
that is available everywhere, 24 hours a day, 7 days
responsible for the climate change. On the other
a week, independently from external weather con-
hand, cooling is mainly done by electricity intensive
ditions, is geothermal energy. Geothermal energy
air-to-air systems, electricity which is also generat-
can be either extracted from earth interior through
ed by burning fossil fuels. The result is the observed
deep wells yielding hot water, or from shallow depth
annual increase in global temperature and sea level,
beneath our feet by ground source heat pumps.
the change of local eco-systems, frequent forest
Ground source heat pumps can not only provide
fires and extreme weather incidents. Furthermore,
both renewable heating and energy efficient cooling,
the high prices of oil that resulted during the recent
but free sanitary hot water as well.
years make heating and cooling high cost activities,
damaging to local competitiveness and economy.
Geological section,
Emilia-Romagna
Region
18
address GCHP investments in Europe
The GEO.POWER project addresses the need to
They have been selected by evaluating a pool of
transform local markets towards using geothermal
case studies included in the Ground-Med data
energy for low cost and environmental friendly heat-
base, which includes more than 110 entries from
ing and cooling, and drafts action plans for diverting
the European projects “Ground-Reach”, “Sepemo-
European structural funds for this purpose. Large
Built” and “Ground-Med”, plus many more ones pro-
use of geothermal energy will effectively contribute
posed by project partners. More information for the
to sustainable energy development and towards
“Ground-Med” data base and the “Geo.Power” best
reaching the European targets for 20% renewable
practices can be found in the following web links:
energy use and 20% energy efficiency improvement
by 2020.
Among other activities, the GEO.POWER project
has identified a series of best practice case studies,
•
http://www.groundmed.eu/
•
h t t p : / / w w w. g e o p o w e r - i 4 c . e u / i n d e x .
hp_best_practice_database/
php?page=bpview
which prove the feasibility of geothermal energy and
A brief description of these best practice case is pre-
ground source heat pumps as the economically and
sented in the next pages.
environmentally effective heating and cooling technologies of the future. These best practices are outstanding demonstrative cases with high replication
potential, which include geothermal applications for
district heating, heating and cooling of airports and
greenhouses, as well as heating and cooling of commercial, residential, industrial and public buildings.
Heat pumps on a
horizontal loop
19
Greenhouse near Antwerp
(Belgium)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Agriculture
DESCRIPTION
The semi-closed greenhouse has a net area of 13,500 m². The air handling unit conditioning the greenhouse is coupled to an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage with a maximum flow rate of 80m³/h, a ground source heat pump and an oil boiler. The electric
water-to-water heat pump has a heating capacity of 824 kW. This is a specific application of a ground coupled heat pump system. Regular greenhouses are designed to be
opened in summer during overheating. In this application, the cultivator tries to keep
the greenhouse closed as much as possible, so that the CO2, which is brought into the
greenhouse for manuring, stays inside longer.In practice, overheating is minimized by
introducing a cooling system into the greenhouse. A heat pump is used, combined with
a ground source open loop system. During winter, the heat pump tries to cover the heating demand of the greenhouse. The cold at the evaporator is stored into the cold well.
This ‘stored’ cold is used during summer to cool down the greenhouse. If necessary, the
heat pump can deliver additional cold, while the heat will be stored into the warm well.
The two wells have a depth of 140m each and a distance of 200m between the warm
and the cold one. For more information, view www.emis.vito.be
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
Through the application of the geothermal heat pump system there is considerable reduction in energy costs, compared to a traditional greenhouse installation and an expansion of the season of cultivation. Geothermal cooling is provided at low cost, which
gives the opportunity of keeping the greenhouse closed as long as possible, having a
positive effect on manuring. In addition, the reduction of carbon dioxide emission is 34%
compared to reference.
The measured EER (cooling) is 9-40, while the measured SPF (heating) is 5. The average SEER for a combination of free cooling and cooling provided by the reversible heat
pump is 18.
TRANSFERABILITY
20
The geothermal heat pump market is expanding worldwide during the last 15 years
with stably very high rates over 25% per year. Worldwide there are already 2,000,000
(22,000 MWth) GCHP installed, with 225,000 units being installed every year in the EU27 and with a prediction that in the next years the annual increase will be 500.000 units.
According to the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), in the year 2020 there
will be 2,837,000 installed units in the EU-27. The increase of the installation of the units
during the next years is guaranteed by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
(EPBD), Energy for a changing world-Energy Policy for Europe 2020, the SET-PLAN (On
Investing in the Development of Low Carbon Technologies) and is also verified from the
ETP-RHC (European Technology Platform for Renewable Heating & Cooling).
Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage for district
heating and cooling at Arlanda Airport
(Sweden)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Airport / Commercial building / public building
DESCRIPTION
The world’s largest energy storage unit of its kind − the aquifer that supplies space cooling and heating for Stockholm-Arlanda Airport − has been in service since the summer
of 2009.
From now on, all cooling of airport buildings, including the terminals, will come from the
aquifer. Arlanda consumes as much energy as a city of 25,000 people. Areas as large
as one hundred European football pitches need to be cooled in summer and warmed in
winter.
During the summer, the aquifer supplies cooling to Stockholm-Arlanda’s buildings while
at the same time storing heat. In the winter, this stored heat will be used in the ground
heating system at the airport’s aircraft parking stands for snow melting and to preheat ventilation air in buildings. The aquifer will reduce the airport’s annual electricity
consumption by 4 GWh (no longer needed for operation of electrical chillers) and its
district heating consumption by around 15 GWh making a total of 19 GWh. The system
efficiency is world class. No heat pumps are used and electrical chillers less than 100
hours per year, gives a SPF closer to 100.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
A holistic and multi-disciplinary approach and new organisation allowed new thinking, new business models and new system solutions: The warm “waste” energy in the
comfort cooling system’s return pipe, as well as the cold “waste” energy in the ground
heating and ventilation pre-heating systems’ is utilised without need of heat pumps or
chillers. This was made possible because of three things:
An aquifer thermal energy storage is used to store the warm respectively cold waste
energy between the seasons
The district cooling system (5/15°C) is used for distribution of both cooling and low
temp heat. This avoided investment in a new piping network.
The low temp heat is used (and replaces district heating) in low temperature applications: Ventilation air pre-heating and ground heating system for snow melting. By doing this, heat pumps are not needed, saving operational costs as well as
investment cost.
•
•
•
As a demonstrator, the aquifer’s impressive size in combination with excellent energy
and cost efficiency as well as it is very good communications located at an international
airport makes it an excellent demonstrator.
TRANSFERABILITY
The system would be replicable on a site with similar conditions i.e. where there is a
close by aquifer, a cooling demand and is possible to use low temperature heat for preheating of ventilation air, snow melting or something else. Typical applications could be
a large shopping mall, a large hospital, office or research facility.
21
The Avenue Centre in Reading
(England)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Public building
DESCRIPTION
The Ground source heat pump system was installed in a new shared occupancy building comprised of a special needs school and office accommodation.
A combined installation of water/ heat pumps is linked to a ground-source heat installation for primary heat generation. These provide low cost, low maintenance and low
CO2 generation without any local pollution from the flue gases that would have been
the case if boilers were used. They also provide summertime under floor cooling using
borehole water via a plate heat exchanger for cooling. The installation is comprised of
an array of 70 to 80m boreholes that accommodate the closed loop pipes in a conductive grout. These are connected to two heat pump units which extract the available heat
and circulate it at a useful temperature through the building heating system.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
The system was introduced to a new build, multi-use building with a high heat demand.
The site has a high water table but no geological heat and is in a temperate weather
region with average temperatures of between 2°C and 21°C.
TRANSFERABILITY
The system would be replicable on a site with similar conditions i.e. where there is no
geological heat below ground and a temperate climate. In addition this site had space
restraints so used a deep bore system. This ground source system has been installed
for a mixed use building - office and training facilities as well as a special needs school,
where we have used zoning to maintain different levels of heat as required.
District Heating System in Ferrara
(Italy)
22
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Public and private buildings, industry and SMEs sector
DESCRIPTION
In the 1960s, while a research study was investigating new oilfields, it was discovered an
underground source of hot water (ca. 2.000 m deep). After the energy crisis of the 70’s,
the Municipality of Ferrara launched the “Geothermal Project”, to exploit the geothermal
resource as a primary source for a urban heating system. At first, the geothermal fluid
(hot water, ca 100°C) is pumped from depths of 1000 m to the surface; then the hot water
transfers thermal energy to the heating system. Finally, it is re-introduced in the subsoil in
order to ensure the geotechnical stability.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
Now, the network in Ferrara is fed with the so-called “Integrated Energy System”, because
to the geothermal source was added the energy from the Waste Treatment Plant.
TRANSFERABILITY
This system has more environmental and economic benefits than a traditional one because it allows to have significant cost savings and to reduce CO2 emissions. The District
Heating System of Ferrara represents one of the most important example of ‘Integrated
Energy System’ that will be further increased by the future development. Due to its high
energy efficiency this system is thought to be highly advisable and transferable although
some issue can be related to the construction size required, market-related, and economic and technical reasons.
Hotel “Amalia” in Nea Tirintha
(Greece)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Cross-cutting field (Hotel)
DESCRIPTION
The building, with a total area of 8,980 m2, was totally renovated during the years 20072008 and is heated and cooled by an open-loop heat pump system. The heating/cooling
distribution system into the building consists of fan-coil units (floor standing type). The
building heating and cooling loads are 704 kWth and 566 kWc respectively. The GSHP
system consists of two subsaline groundwater supplying wells (60m depth each one)
and two reinjection wells (60m depth each one), two titanium heat exchangers and two
electric water source heat pumps placed in cascade. The two heat pump units, HP1 (of
352 kW nominal capacity) and HP2 (of 352 kW nominal capacity), are both water-towater type and operate in bivalent mode with electric energy, for heating and cooling
purpose as well. Both heat pumps use R407C as refrigerant. At the “ground-source”
side of the heat pumps the supply/return temperatures for cooling are 22/26°C (HP1)
and 25/29°C (HP2). For heating the supply/return temperatures are 12/8°C (HP1) and
8/4°C (HP2). The operating points for heating are 40°C and for cooling 7°C. In addition,
hot water is supplied to the building by an oil boiler.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
After two years (2008-2009) the adopted technological choices in the Hotel "Amalia"
have allowed important energy and economical savings. Compared to a conventional
system, the geothermal system offers 70.5% energy saving and 67.4% cost saving. The
total cost savings are 105,081 €. In addition, the total CO2 savings are 323,328 kg CO2.
According to the calculations, simple pay-back time is estimated to 4.68 years with an
expected life-time of the system of 30 years. The expected SPF (heating) is 4.54, while
the expected SEER (cooling) is 3.65. The results have been positive in all respects: the
operating cost, the required maintenance, the total independence from traditional fuels
and the operation continuity.
TRANSFERABILITY
The geothermal heat pump market is expanding worldwide during the last 15 years
with stably very high rates over 25% per year. Worldwide there are already 2,000,000
(22,000 MWth) GCHP installed, with 225,000 units being installed every year in the EU27 and with a prediction that in the next years the annual increase will be 500.000 units.
According to the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), in the year 2020 there
will be 2,837,000 installed units in the EU-27. The increase of the installation of the units
during the next years is guaranteed by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
(EPBD), Energy for a changing world-Energy Policy for Europe 2020, the SET-PLAN (On
Investing in the Development of Low Carbon Technologies) and is also verified from the
ETP-RHC (European Technology Platform for Renewable Heating & Cooling).
23
One-family house in Ohlsdorf
(Austria)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Private building and housing sector
DESCRIPTION
The heated area of the building is 189 m2. The installation is operated using no backup
heating system and is connected to the heat distribution system without buffer storage.
During design of the installation the maximum supply temperature was set at 35°C and
the return temperature was set at 30°C. The heat supply system is designed as floor
heating with a heated area of 154 m2.
A direct expansion-to-water heat pump was installed. The heat pump is filled with 3.8kg
of the refrigerant R290 (Propane) and operates with a reciprocating compressor. The
heat pump is equipped with a frequency converter and can be run on two capacity levels.
The heat pump has a heating capacity of 7 kW in step 1 and 14 kW in step 2 at the operation point S4/W35. The heat source is a flat collector (horizontal) with an area of 270 m2.
The flat collector was arranged in six parallel refrigerant circuits with a length of 75 m
each. The collector pipes were installed in a depth of 1.2 m under the ground and have a
diameter of 12 mm. The specific heat abstraction capacity was 22 W/m2. The domestic
hot water is heated by a separate air-to-water heat pump which uses the air of the surrounding air in the cellar.
24
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
Using this heat pump system CO2 emissions were reduced by 49 % compared to a gas
boiler and by 60 % in comparison to an oil boiler. Over a period of 20 years this would
mean a 33 ton reduction of CO2 emissions in comparison to a gas boiler and a 55 ton
reduction in comparison to an oil boiler. The primary energy savings for the buildings
heating and hot water demands in comparison to a gas boiler are 9,324 kWh/a (60%)
and 10,230 kWh (62%) in comparison to an oil boiler. For the primary energy comparison,
the electricity was calculated with the emission values of the Austrian electricity-mix as
reported by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour in 2003. Also, a SPF
(heating) of 4.1 (excluding the energy needed for the circulation pump) was calculated.
TRANSFERABILITY
The geothermal heat pump market is expanding worldwide during the last 15 years
with stably very high rates over 25% per year. Worldwide there are already 2,000,000
(22,000 MWth) GCHP installed, with 225,000 units being installed every year in the EU27 and with a prediction that in the next years the annual increase will be 500.000 units.
According to the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), in the year 2020 there
will be 2,837,000 installed units in the EU-27. The increase of the installation of the units
during the next years is guaranteed by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
(EPBD), Energy for a changing world-Energy Policy for Europe 2020, the SET-PLAN (On
Investing in the Development of Low Carbon Technologies) and is also verified from the
ETP-RHC (European Technology Platform for Renewable Heating & Cooling).
Two-family house in Pikermi
(Greece)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Private building and housing sector
DESCRIPTION
The residence is located in the centre of Pikermi, Attiki. It is well insulated with the use
of synthetic windows with double glass and Argon gas in-between. The building heating
and cooling loads are 8.7 kWth and 6.8 kWc respectively. The only heating and cooling system of the residence is a 8.7kW geothermal heat pump with water wells (open
loop). The heat pump feeds the under-floor system with warm or cold water for heating
or cooling accordingly. Two extra ceiling (built-in) dehumidifiers are placed in the two
floors of the residence (each in every floor). The dehumidifiers are used only in cooling
mode during summer, are commanded by a wall humidity sensor and dry the air when
needed, thus operating complementary to the floor-cooling. These dehumidifiers are
water chilled with the under-floor water. Apart from the dehumidification, they also provide extra cooled air, to give a cooling boost to the under-floor cooling system in cases
of heat waves days.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
Through the application of the geothermal heat pump system a significant energy saving (over 50%) is succeeded, compared to the conventional means of heating/cooling/
hot water. In addition, the primary energy savings compared to the conventional means
(e.g. natural gas) is 30-40%, while there is a similar avoidance of emission of air pollutants (e.g. carbon dioxide).
Apart from the total independence from traditional fuels, and operation continuity, no
other financial results have been concluded due to recent start-up of the installation
(April 2010). According to calculations, the expected savings are approx. 73% in comparison to oil boiler (80€ geo vs. 300€ oil monthly), while the simple pay-back time is estimated to 10 years with an expected life-time of the system of 30 years. The expected
COP (heating) is 5.8, the expected EER (cooling) is 6.1 and the expected SPF (heating) is
4.77, while the expected SEER (cooling) is 3.65.
TRANSFERABILITY
The geothermal heat pump market is expanding worldwide during the last 15 years
with stably very high rates over 25% per year. Worldwide there are already 2,000,000
(22,000 MWth) GCHP installed, with 225,000 units being installed every year in the EU27 and with a prediction that in the next years the annual increase will be 500.000 units.
According to the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), in the year 2020 there
will be 2,837,000 installed units in the EU-27. The increase of the installation of the units
during the next years is guaranteed by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
(EPBD), Energy for a changing world-Energy Policy for Europe 2020, the SET-PLAN (On
Investing in the Development of Low Carbon Technologies) and is also verified from the
ETP-RHC (European Technology Platform for Renewable Heating & Cooling).
25
Block of flats in HUN street, Budapest
(Hungary)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Private buildings and housing sector
DESCRIPTION
A ten-story panel building with 256 flats, approximately 1000 occupants. Before the investment the building had connected to the local district heating system. First of all, the
building envelope had been insulated, new energy efficient windows, and controllable
heating (by occupants) were installed. After this investment it was worth to think about
a renewable investment. A groundwater heat pumps system was installed. This system
utilizes four wells and six injection wells. The wells are 14 meter deep. Three heat pumps
were installed, with 434 kW nominal capacities for heating, 245 kW for domestic hot
water supply.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
In Hungary this is the first building that was built of industrialized technology and utilizes
geothermal energy via heat pumps.
TRANSFERABILITY
One of the cheapest and most economic renewable energy sources is geothermal energy. In terms of thermal energy moving upwards from the soil, Hungary is in an advantageous situation, boasting thermal water reserves of at least 500 billion cubic meters, of
which approximately 50 billion cubic meters can be extracted. Hungary is also in possession of large quantities of water close to the surface, making the use of water-to-water
heat pumps obvious in the Carpathian basin.
In Hungary approximately 20% of the building stock in 2005 was built by this industrialized technology. According to the Hungarian statistics, roughly 2 million people (it’s about
one fifth of the population) live in panel-houses in Hungary today (source: Hungarian
Central Statistical Office). Since water is returned to the ground, the underground water
supply is not depleted by the heat pump’s operation.
Funding for these projects were obtained through numerous tenders in the framework of
the panel programme, generating an excellent result: the community’s energy consumption of 35,308 GJ in 1995 was knocked down to 7,446 GJ by 2008.
It can be a good example for a new kind of financial possibility (ESCO) for panel building
rehabilitation. To sum up, district heating, the only available heating solution in Hungarian
pre-fabricated buildings for decades, now not only faces competition from gas heating
but also from an environment-friendly heating system. Anyone finding their heating bills
too expensive can now decide which heating solution to choose.
26
Ground source heat pump with borehole
thermal energy storage (BTES)
at headquarters INFRAX, Torhout
(Belgium)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Public building
DESCRIPTION
Infrax is appointed as grid operator for a part of the gas, electrical and cable distribution
grid in Belgium. One of their tasks consists of distributing subsidies and other (financial)
encouragement to promote the implementation of sustainable construction and renewable energy. In 2009, their new headquarters has been built in Torhout, based on the
principles of a low-energy office building and equipped with renewable energy sources,
just to demonstrate their pioneering role in green energy. The characteristic ecological
and sustainable values of Infrax were translated into a project that is a metaphor of
a forest and multitude of slender concrete strains showing a broad green crown. The
building itself consist of 3 layers, each of about 1.400 m². The landscape offices are
spread out over the top 2 layers, the ground floor mainly covers the restaurant area and
some public areas.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
This project comprises an active double skin with integrated photo-voltaic elements,
slab heating and cooling and a ground coupled heat pump of 160 kW combined with a
BTES system (24 vertical heat exchangers with depth of 130m). It provides an optimal
example of Trias Energetica. At first, building skin is constructed in order to avoid heating in winter and cooling in summer, secondly the remaining energy demand is covered
by a very efficient renewable energy system and at last the energy peak is covered in a
traditional way.
TRANSFERABILITY
This building can be seen as an example of how future office buildings can be constructed on an environmental way! Thanks to the demonstration role of the building
owner, this project can be easily accessed and showed to all the stake holders in the
building construction market. This concept can be easily transferred to other offices
of a decent size (+1.000 m²), but also to other types of buildings (schools, hospitals,
resthomes, ...)
27
University building of the Polytechnic Institute
of Setúbal
(Portugal)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
Public building
DESCRIPTION
EST Setúbal is an engineering school which belongs to the Polytechnic Institute of
Setúbal. EST Setúbal was built in 1979. The floor that is being acclimatized with GSHP
is a ground floor, which has 11 office rooms, 5 class rooms and one thermodynamic
laboratory where the GSHP are installed. 220 m2 of that ground floor (103 m2 of office
rooms and 117 m2 of classrooms) are cooled and heated by GSHP. The design outdoor/
indoor temperature are respectively 3,5ºC/20ºC in winter, and 32ºC/25ºC in summer.
The ground floor of EST Setúbal requires 10,560 kWh of heating and 7,040 kWh of cooling, per year, and for the design area the heating and cooling peak loads are 15.8 kW and
11.4 kW respectively. The distribution system consists of fan-coils with two tubes with
the supply/return temperatures 7ºC/12ºC for summer, and 45ºC/40ºC for winter.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
Through the application of the geothermal heat pump system a significant
energy saving (over 50%) is succeeded, compared to the conventional means of heating/
cooling/hot water. In addition, the primary energy savings compared to the conventional
means (e.g. natural gas) is 30-40%, while there is a similar avoidance of emission of air
pollutants (e.g. carbon dioxide).
Regarding to the investment cost, the most expensive part of the GSHP system installation was the borehole drilling. The rest of the installation was the same cost as a traditional acclimatization system. However, it is important to mention that this installation
was a prototype installation where the monitoring equipment was more comprehensive
than for a commercial installation. The measured COP Heating is >5.5, while the measured EER Cooling is >15.35 (COPc>4.5).
TRANSFERABILITY
28
The geothermal heat pump market is expanding worldwide during the last 15 years
with stably very high rates over 25% per year. Worldwide there are already 2,000,000
(22,000 MWth) GCHP installed, with 225,000 units being installed every year in the EU27 and with a prediction that in the next years the annual increase will be 500.000 units.
According to the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), in the year 2020 there
will be 2,837,000 installed units in the EU-27. The increase of the installation of the units
during the next years is guaranteed by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
(EPBD), Energy for a changing world-Energy Policy for Europe 2020, the SET-PLAN (On
Investing in the Development of Low Carbon Technologies) and is also verified from the
ETP-RHC (European Technology Platform for Renewable Heating & Cooling).
TELENOR Headquarter, Törökbálint
(Hungary)
FIELD OF
APPLICATION
DESCRIPTION
Industry and SMEs sector
IThe green-field construction of the new TELENOR headquarters began in the summer
of 2007 and has been operating since 31.10.2008. When designing its new premises
TELENOR was driven by its environmental commitment making it one of Hungary’s
most environmentally friendly businesses.
The office is located the outskirts of Budapest, and it has a floorspace of 26.520 m2. The
building is equipped with environmentally-friendly engineering technology, based on renewable energy sources. The building draws its energy from geothermal heat pumps.
The system uses 180 Borehole Heat Exchanger (BHE) drilled 100 meters deep (diameter
40 mm) to provide cold and hot water, therein regulating temperature in the building.
The distance among the BHE’s is 7 meter. The cooling capacity of the heat pumps is
965,7 kW, and the heating capacity is 862,2 kW. The energy required to produce sufficient hot water for the staff is provided by solar collectors. The total surface of the collectors is 168 m2, which can supply the 60-70% of the hot water demand. The energy efficiency of the building is controlled by an intelligent building management system that
allows efficient measurement and control of various equipment parameters. The building is equipped with exceptionally high efficiency insulation to minimize heat losses.
External shades keep the building cooler during the summer and external heat retrieval
equipment ensures that the building does not lose much energy through ventilation. The
office building is equipped with energy-efficient air conditioning systems.
INNOVATIVE AND
DEMONSTRATIVE
APPROACH
TRANSFERABILITY
Compared to a conventional building, the new headquarters will cut down on CO2 emissions equivalent to those generated by about 500 homes, making it one of Hungary’s
“greenest” office buildings. The building and the engineering was carefully, specially and
well designed. In the planning phase of the project an exploratory drilling and Thermal
Response Test was done for 68 hours. The ground temperature at 100 meter depth is
approximately 15-15.2°C. The operation of the heat pump system is carefully monitored, 3 monitoring point were installed to watch and check the COP and SPF of the heat
pumps.
The building operates properly and it can show a good green investment strategy to other companies as well. The heat pump-based heating and cooling system of the Telenor
House is demonstrating that environmental and economic interests are compatible with
each other and that investment projects can enhance the environment, reduce environmental impact, and generate financial gain at the same time. Energy planning has from
the earliest stages been fully in harmony with the company’s philosophy. This harmony
is best achieved by high-efficiency radiant heating operating at low temperature, and
radiant cooling operating at higher-than-usual temperature. An analysis of the system
parameters clearly showed that heat pumps were the most suitable principal energy
source. The installation of the heat pump was an enormous advantage for Telenor
Hungary for the purpose of building the image of a green mobile operator. Telenor not
only has the most environmentally friendly office building in the CEE region but operates
the 7th largest heat pump in Europe (in 2011).
29
2
How investments in GCHP can be a cost efficient action to
increase a regions energy efficiency and use of RES
Oskar Raftegard
Geoenergy and heat pumping technologies are key
them part of a very complex energy system. Cost
technologies to reach the European energy and cli-
efficiency, energy efficiency as well as the share of
mate targets. Both has been acknowledge by the
renewable energy in a GCHP-system cannot be de-
European Commission in the Directive on the promo-
termined without taking the complex electricity sys-
tion on use of renewable energy sources (DIRECTIVE
tem as well as the fossil fuel market into considera-
2009/28/EC of 23 April 2009)
tion. This makes the comparison between a GCHP
[8]
In shallow geoenergy systems, typically used as
heat source for ground coupled heat pumps (GCHP),
the heat energy in the bedrock can be considered
as stored solar energy [9], while the heat pump itself
system and competing heat sources such as oil or
gas boilers complex. The Figure below shows definitions, system boundaries and the principle differences between a GCHP-system and a boiler system.
makes it possible to utilise the low temperature heat
in the bedrock for comfort heating and production of
sanitary hot water. This makes the ground coupled
heat pump system a fantastic invention!
However, the heat pump need drive energy in form
of electric power. One part electric energy gives
three to four parts of useful heat or cold, sometimes
Definitions, system
boundaries and
the principle
differences
between a GCHPsystem (upper)
and a boiler
system (lower).
more. This ratio is when evaluated over a heating or
cooling season called the Seasonal Performance
Factor (SPF), not to be confused with Coefficient of
Performance (COP). In this article SPF express “the
true performance the consumer gets”. The simple
fact that heat pumps use electric power also makes
Regional energy efficiency and use of renewables
Heat pumps are by many considered as an energy ef-
The saving in “purchased energy” (%) for a boiler-to-
ficient technology. This statement must be taken with
heat pump conversion can be calculated with equa-
some caution. Comparing the two principle cases in
tion(1), the saving for typical systems (SPF 3.5 and
figure 1 there is a significant saving in “purchased energy”, but there is no savings in “end use energy” at all.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu
Heat pumps in energy statistics – Suggestions, Jan-Erik Nowacki, 2007
8
9
30
90%) is 74%.
Equation 1
In case of a
bivalent system,
a factor, exen, is
used to denote the
relation between
the energy provided
by the heat pump
and the annual
heat demand
for the building.
haux denotes the
efficiency of
auxiliary heating
sources.
But are there any savings in the regional energy sys-
In table 1 below, data from three different sources, EN
tem? One way to include the overall energy system is
15603, GEMIS 4.7 and Eurostat are compared. As can
to use “primary energy”. By using primary energy fac-
be seen the values differs, especially for Eurostat us-
tors (PEF) the “purchased energy” can be converted
ing a definition 1 as primary energy factor for fossil
to “primary energy”, but there is no straight forward
fuels.
scientific methodology to define these factors.
EN 15603
Primary energy factor (Total)
GEMIS 4.7
Primary energy factor (Total)
EUROSTAT
Primary energy factor (Total)
Fuel oil
1,35
1,19
1
Natural gas
1,36
1,15
1
Coal
1,19
1,10
1
Electricity Mix (EU)
3,31
2,65
2,2
Primary energy savings (%) can be calculated by
fuels have primary factors of one by most standards,
equation(2)
but have significantly lower CO2-emission factors
[10]
:
than the fossil fuels. Figure below shows the emisEquation 2
sion factors used by GEMINIS 4.2 with a recalculaThe share of renewable energy follow the same prin-
tion of an assumed 4 % loss in the power grid. The
ciples as “primary energy”, but notice that renewable
emissions caused by 1 kWh “End Use Energy” for
boilers and GCHP are also included.
CO2 emissions
per kWh useful
heat from different
fuels, power
grids and heat
generators. Source
for fuel/electricity
data: Geminis 4.2
with recalculations
of grid losses.
DERIVED FROM “REACHING THE KYOTO-TARGETS BY A WIDE INTRODUCTION OF GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS, PART Ι:
METHODOLOGY, M. FORSÉN, T. NOWAK, 9TH INTERNATIONAL IEA HEAT PUMP CONFERENCE, 2008
11
ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS ― OVERALL ENERGY USE AND DEFINITION OF ENERGY RATINGS, 2008
12
GEMIS (GLOBAL EMISSION MODEL FOR INTEGRATED SYSTEMS) V 4.7, OEKO-INSTITUT
10
31
The CO2 savings (%) can be calculated with the fol-
It is notable that a GCHP with an SPF of 3.5 decreas-
lowing equation :
es CO2 emissions even in grids with a high share of
fossil fuel power plants.
Equation 3
Countries with an early development of heat
By today the total annual energy capture of free
pumps such as Sweden and Switzerland have a
renewable energy by heat pumps in Sweden is
large share of electric heating in common. Both
estimated to 15-17 TWh. [14] Energy that otherwise
countries also have a high share of non-fossil
had been purchased.
fuels in their power mix. In these countries, the
oil crisis with rapidly rising energy prices in the
1970’s became the driver for development of heat
(NOTE: All figures
above should
be considered
as estimates,
since there is a
significant lack of
quality assured
statistics).
pumps. The introduction of heat pumps was in
this context a measure of saving oil and increase
the use of domestic energy. [13]
Given the assumption that Swedish heat pumps
has an average SFP of 3,5 [15] and the competing heat generators would be oil boilers [16], the
“end use energy” savings are about 17-20 TWh/
year and just as much “primary energy savings”
if EUROSTAT primary energy factor of 1.0 for the
Nordic Power Mix is used.
Cost effectiveness
Cost efficiency is a strong driver for the building
owner for investment in a GCHP. This is pointed out
when energy prices for electricity and competing fuels and financial cost for investments are compared
with sales figures [17,18]. This also becomes apparent
when investment subsidy program ends.
The ratio between the consumer price for electricity
and the competing fuels is an indicator of GCHP’s
competitiveness. A GCHP system has a comparative advantage over competing technologies whenever the SPF is higher than the energy price ratio. In
general, the larger the difference between SPF and
energy price ratio, the bigger the advantage in terms
of operating cost. In figure at side the consumer
prices has been plotted for six countries.
15
16
Heat-pumping technologies for a modern society, Swedish energy agency, ET2005:15, 2005
Sverige ledande på värmepumpar, Swedish energy agency, ET2009:23, 2009
Heat pumps in energy statistics – Suggestions, Jan-Erik Nowacki, 2007
Oil to GCHP has been a common conversion in Sweden but the statistics used also include conversion from direct electricity and to
other source heat pumps and large heat pumps in district heating systems.
17
EHPA Outlook 2011, 2011
18
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES SCHEMES FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY, K4RES-H, EGEC
13
14
32
Price ratio
between electricity
and the competing
fuel (including
boiler losses)
in six European
countries. (Data
from EHPA
Outlook 2011).
The green line
indicates a ratio of
2.0 and the red line
a ratio of 3.5.
According to the European Heat Pump Organisation
a price ratio below 2.0 indicate a market where heat
Conclusions
pumps are seen as an attractive alternative because
Investments in GCHP-systems will save primary
their SPF is usually (much) higher than 2.0 and thus
energy and CO2-emissions in almost all region-
their operating cost are lower than those of the com-
al energy systems, presupposed a SPF of 3.5 or
peting heating solution. This is also reflected in the
higher (see figure at page 31). This makes SPF re-
sales figures, where Sweden and France are in top
quirements in procurement as well as in subsidy
positions, Germany in the middle and Belgium in the
programs important. (Note: SPF is used to express
bottom.
(A consumer adapted cost calculator can
“the true performance the consumer gets”, not “the
be found on ProHeatPumps web page, http://www.
heat pump unit’s performance in lab environment”.
proheatpump.eu).
Quality assured installations and trained installers
[19]
will improve SPF)
The Swedish government has invested in re-
Introduction of GCHP-systems will only be compet-
search as well as in different subsidy, informa-
itive if the consumer energy price ratio is reason-
tion and training programs to promote heat
pumps from the 1970’s. A rough calculation
made by Nowacki in 2005 shows a simple
pay-back of only four days for all tax-funded
able low (see figure at page 32). Investment subsidies can open a market for GCHP, but if the energy
price ratio isn’t good enough when the subsidies
are withdrawn, the market will probably decline to
previous level.
research from mid-1970’s until mid-2000’s. [20]
This does not include investment in subsidy
programmes or in training activities, but the
subsidy programmes were by part labour
market measures and some of the subsidies
promoted a variety of energy or CO2-saving
measures and not only heat pumps. Using
the same figures and assumptions as in earlier calculations and the prices found in the
figure 2, the Swedish consumers annually
saves about € 1 500 000 000, compared with
oil boilers.
Outlook 2011, 2011
Sutrapport för eff-Sys, Energimyndighetens utvecklingsprogram Effektivare kyl- och värmepumpssystem, 2005
19
20
33
3
Reproducing GCHP investments:
a common methodology to evaluate the degree of success
Beatrice M.S Giambastiani , Micòl Mastrocicco
Introduction
Determined to fight against climate change, the EU
potential of reproducibility, to prepare action plans for
is committed to reducing its own greenhouse gas
the large scale introduction of Ground-Coupled Heat
emissions by at least 20% by 2020 (compared with
Pumps (GCHP) in each of the project partner regions.
1990 levels) mainly by improving the use of renewable energy and curbing energy consumption. The
exploitation of geothermal energy, especially lowenthalpy power generation utilizing Ground-Coupled
Heat Pump (GCHP) systems, is rapidly becoming an
attractive and viable alternative.
Heat pumps
engine room
of the District
Heating System at
Casaglia
(Ferrara, Italy)
34
After an exchange of experiences based on some
outstanding examples of the use of geothermal heat
with high replication potential and strong market
prospects, the second phase of GEO.POWER focused
on the transferability assessment of the selected
twelve example of best practice into each partner’s
In this context, the GEO.POWER project has been de-
region, by means of the SWOT analysis that was de-
veloped to exchange examples of best practice re-
signed to recognize advantages and disadvantages
lated to low enthalpy energy supply and, after a tech-
of the technologies and their opportunities for future
nical and cost/benefit assessment to evaluate the
development and penetration in the target areas.
SWOT analysis
in the second phase of the GEO.POWER project, the
areas where the selected technologies could be pro-
partners went through a SWOT analysis to estimate
moted for future replication; the latter (is this what
the weaknesses and potential for the application and
you mean here? Are you referring to the threats?) was
adaptation of GCHP technologies in their territories,
based more on the market situation, environment,
based on the local technical, economic and environ-
and competition with other energy sources, etc.
mental situation. The SWOT analysis is based both on
an internal analysis, which has the objective to carefully define Strengths (S) and Weaknesses (W) of the
selected examples of best practice with the objective
to define the technical aspects of the technology applied (such as energy efficiency, reliability, economic
efficiency, etc.), and on an external analysis, concerning Opportunities (O) and Threats (T) of the target
Each partner was asked to select at least three GEO.
POWER examples of best practice in order to examine their transferability, under a variety of different
combinations of parameters in regards to current
market situation, environment, location, legislation,
financial incentives, application and type of installation, energy and cost efficiency.
Transferability assessment
Weighting factors were assigned to each com-
according to its degree of transferability (from 2 for
ponent of the SWOT analysis. In order to assess
“very high transferability” to -2 for “very poor trans-
the transferability of the selected examples, each
ferability”). Each example of best practice was then
weighting factor value was multiplied by a score,
given a rank and its transferability assessed. This
Matrix of GCHP
best practices’
transferability
potential (red
circles indicate the
most transferable
BP, while blue
circles indicate the
less transferable)
35
unified methodology allowed the comparison of
From a technical point of view, it is a system that
SWOT analyses from all partners with each other.
significantly reduces the use of gas and electricity
The three most transferable applications are sum-
for heating and cooling, leading to cost reductions;
marized below.
while, from the environmental point of view, replace-
Taking into account the scores of both internal and
external analyses, the most transferable example
ment of conventional heating systems would reduce
gas emissions.
of best practice are TELENOR building (HU) and the
Some limits could be represented by the applicabil-
Strawberry Garden in Antwerp (BE) while less trans-
ity in different climate conditions (if winter tempera-
ferable ones are the 1-family house in Ohldshorf (AT)
tures are too low more energy is needed for cultiva-
and Arlanda airport (SE).
tion and so the energy efficiency is compromised) or
The strengths of the Telenor building transferability
lie in its energy efficiency, avoided gas emissions and
by the reluctance of some farmers to abandon the
old production system and cultivation techniques.
small environmental impact. Although the build-
Moreover in some countries there are very few ref-
ing is large, the HP system, the flat plate collectors
erences regarding this type of installation in the
for sanitary hot water production and the intelligent
agricultural sector; in some countries environmen-
building management are transferable for smaller
tal permits are required for open loop system and
offices. Also the degree of innovation and ‘green’ en-
ATES (Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage) technology;
gineering solutions were appreciated. The investor
in some countries the market for this sort of green-
interest in this type of building could be high, as well
house is small because there is a strong competition
as the visibility of the example of best practice being
from international large scale greenhouses with bet-
the headquarters of one of the most famous mobile
ter climate conditions that can produce vegetables
and broadband service companies.
at lower costs.
The strengths of the Strawberry Garden are the
Concerning the 1-family house, besides the good
geothermal and agricultural potential considering
energy performance and efficiency of the system
that many partners have large areas suitable for ag-
(heat pumps with direct expansion have higher ef-
riculture and they already have existing greenhouses
ficiency than usual ones), the market share is de-
that could be converted in order to satisfy the inves-
creasing due to the great attention and consistency
tor interest to make higher profits from selling out
needed in laying the pipes and because for direct
of season vegetables and fruits instead of importing.
expansion systems specific circumstances are required. The advantages are the low installation cost
(with direct expansion initial investment is quite low
because the majority of the production is based on
conventional techniques), the minimal technical
maintenance and the simplified management.
The limitations are the big area of free space
Presentation of the
SWOT analyses
results to assess
the potential of
transferability
36
needed for the installation of the ground heat exchanger which limits the applicability in densely
built up areas and the degree of acceptance for
this technology.
The world’s largest energy storage unit − the aquifer
for GCHP applications is the lack of government reg-
that supplies space cooling and heating for Arlanda
ulations and significant incentives for renewable en-
Airport − will reduce the airport’s annual electricity
ergies, in particular for geothermal energy more than
consumption by 4 GWh (no longer needed for op-
other renewable energy sources. Government in-
eration of electrical chillers) and its district heating
centives or tax deductions are necessary to promote
consumption by around 15 GWh making a total of 19
the use of heat pumps, as the English and Sweden
GWh. The system efficiency is world class. Large in-
experience demonstrate. Despite its high value, low-
frastructure systems such as that at Arlanda Airport
enthalpy geothermal energy cannot compete effec-
(or the district heating system of Casaglia in Italy),
tively with conventional energy sources (gas and oil)
are less easy to transfer due to the construction
without significant financial and political support.
size required, market-related, economic and technical reasons although the energy efficiency would
be high, and the environmental impact very low.
Moreover this sort of project would create many job
opportunities and the visibility and promotional activity would be high.
Also the visibility of the examples of best practice
and promotional activities are still limited and this
certainly has to be made a priority, as indeed it has
been for the GEO.POWER project.
The opportunities are numerous: what could increase the number of GCHP installations is the wide
Conclusion
applicability of these systems to different climatic
The GEO.POWER project has facilitated knowledge
ing the efficiency of the system. It appears that more
and information sharing to address the long-term
advanced and complex GCHP systems need more
investment strategy for GCHP application on a large
thorough transferability actions.
scale in each partner’s area.
and hydrogeological conditions without compromis-
The fact that the economy is in recession is the issue
The SWOT analysis and transferability assessment
that may need the most attention. So, the set-up of
highlighted that the choice of a specific GCHP instal-
adequate feed-in tariffs and other incentives could
lation is determined primarily by the ability to achieve
help to overcome the sizeable upfront investment
optimal efficiency with lowest possible energy con-
costs and risks before pay-back. The action plans
sumption and to meet the needs of consumers.
developed by each partner (summarised in chapter
Overall local markets for GCHP installations in all
partners’ regions are characterized by neutral to
positive market opportunities where limited market
3 of this publication) have to address these points in
order to increase the selling power and competitiveness of geothermal energy.
segment, economy in recession (i.e. Italy, Slovenia
and Greece), rising taxation and high price sensitivity are counterbalanced by increasing growth rates,
increasing customer and investor interest, and high
possibility to attract cooperation and create new
jobs. Geothermal power is still underestimated in
many regions (such as Italy and Hungary) taking the
potential into consideration. In many cases, the main
threat to the development of long-term investments
Study visit at the
Avenue Centre in
Reading (UK)
37
3. Local strategies for the large scale introdu
Encouraging GCHP market: the Action Plans Marco Meggiolaro
INTERREG IVC is, by nature, a networking
to address long-term investments strategy for GCHP
Programme which creates links between regions,
application at wide scale. Indeed, an increase aware-
whether part of ‘Convergence’, ‘Competitiveness
ness, improved knowledge and better understanding
and Employment’ or other ‘European Territorial
of the GCHP merits and benefits can effectively push
Cooperation’ programmes. INTERREG IVC capital-
less experienced regions to invest in this renewable
izes on the experience and good practices of these
energy source, while more experienced regions get
regional and local authorities. In this context capitali-
exposed to new ideas and practical solutions in the
zation is understood as a process of collecting, ana-
low enthalpy geothermal energy sector.
lyzing, transferring and disseminating good practices. It helps increase the effectiveness of regional
and local development policies in the selected field
of cooperation.
endorsement of the transferred practices by the
recipient region(s). This is carried out through the
preparation of an action plan by the recipient region,
specifying how these good practices will be implemented under the ERDF operational programmes
and energy regulations plans.
funds that are in charge of profiling investment stratscale introduction of GCHP in their own regions.
This chapter briefly introduces the regional and – in
certain cases – the national roadmaps to encourage
the GCHP market development in the GEO.POWER
members’ regions, on the basis of the technological,
normative and marketing information exchange that
was experienced during the two years of project im-
In GEO.POWER, the action plans carried out by eve-
plementation. In particular, the action plans – when
ry members provide the Managing Authority of the
integrated in the regional energy policy agendas –
ERDF regional funds with an organized set of legisla-
are a concrete step towards the achievement of the
tive, economical, technical and marketing initiatives
new EU “sustainable growth” objectives by 2020.
GEO.POWER action plan
38
competent Managing Authority of the ERDF regional
egies and incentives in order to promote the large
The final step of this process is dedicated to the
From the
action plan to
investments
The main target group of the action plan are the
evaluation of the
reproducibility
potential of GCHP
top-technologies in
recipient region
action plan
to introduce
legislative,
economical,
technical and
marketing
measures in the
energy regional OP
Action Plan expected impact
inclusion of the
action plan in the
energy regional
OP and budget
required for the
GCHP projects
implementation
subsidies to
finance direct
GCHP initiatives
and investments
for the energy
requalification of
buildings
ction of GCHP in the GEO.POWER regions
The Action Plan of Greece
Dimitrios Mendrinos
GCHP installation
works in Greece
SWOT analysis and transferability assessment performed indicated that local market in Greece for
ground source heat pumps (GSHP) is characterized
by neutral to slightly positive market opportunities,
where small market segment, declining economic
conditions, rising taxation and high price sensitivity
are offset by strong customer interest, high degree
of acceptance and government incentives. In addition, the strong competition from natural gas and
The action plan comprises the following measures,
for which the necessary public finance amounts are
listed in parenthesis:
•
40% direct grants to new GSHP installations
•
100% interest rate subsidy for 4 year loan financ-
split air conditioning units can be offset by political
for GSHPs local climate and geology and the good
capacity for promotion of new technologies.
GSHPs are a strong market option, as favorable
product qualities outnumber by far the weakness of
lack of experience among new coming local installers. Based on the above analysis CRES proposes a
local action plan for sustainable GSHP market development in Greece, focusing on providing strong
subsidies, together with financial and tax incentives,
as well as in parallel by promoting product strengths
and eliminating weaknesses by introducing a certification scheme for installers.
ing (38,4 M€), coupled to bank recapitalization in
terms of warrantees, plus 100% tax exemption
and government support, the large environmental
impact of the heating/cooling market, the favorable
(127,8 M€)
•
•
•
•
•
(57,5 M€) for the remaining amount.
Subsidized electricity tariff for GSHP by 3 c€/
kWh(e) on average (33,2 M€)
Subsidizing by up to 50% of employment costs
to local GSHP industry and installers (46,4 M€)
50% VAT return to installers for GSHP installations (36,8 M€)
Establishment of a national certification scheme
for GSHP drillers and installers (0,3 M€)
Campaign communicating GSHP strengths to
key stakeholders (0,5 M€)
Overall cost of above measures for the years 20132020 has been estimated as 341 million euro, or
2,43% of NSRF total budget for Greece, which is pro-
Key stakeholders are private end users (both house-
posed to be as the financing source for the imple-
holds and offices), hotel owners, buildings owners
mentation of the action plan.
and operators, municipalities, SME enterprises providing energy efficiency solutions, commercial companies of GSHP systems, engineers, drillers etc.
Intermediate and/or managing bodies responsible for
the action plan implementation should be the banks for
the direct subsidies and subsidized 4 year loan financ-
The overall objective is to stimulate local GSHP mar-
ing, the Public Power Corporation of Greece for the
ket development in order to reach the market size
low electricity tariff, the manpower employment or-
requirements for 2020 according to the NREAP for
ganization (OAED) for the subsidized employment, the
Greece, which correspond to 50 ktoe of heat from
Ministry of finance for the tax exemptions and VAT re-
GSHPs in 2020, or to 265 MW of installed GSHP
turns and a state controlled organization together with
capacity. The overall cost of these installations has
installers and professional associations for the certifi-
been estimated as 320 million euro.
cation scheme and the communication campaign.
39
The Action Plan of England
Thalia Carr, Kirstin Coley, David Matthews
The Avenue
Centre, Reading
Whilst there is clear UK Government commitment to
the English GSHP sector, sales for both domestic &
commercial Ground Source Heat Pump systems have
been in decline for the last two years. The Government
looks to address GSHP as part of an overall renewable
heat & renewable energy strategy that includes:
•
•
Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to promote growth
of renewable heating in domestic & commercial
sectors.
Code for Sustainable Homes (C4SH) that works in
conjunction with permitted development & regulation to require new buildings to fit a percentage of
•
•
•
renewable energy.
Further public awareness campaigns for the social, community & public sectors are required. All
stakeholders need to work to promote the uptake
of GSHP systems.
The information in the EST heat pump field trial and
subsequent analysis by the Department for Energy and
Climate Change needs to be further disseminated so
that others can gain heat pump engineering knowledge
from the field trial data.
smart grid needs to be considered in order to get great-
lation. Above 45 kW thermal systems are certified
er efficiency.
by the energy regulator, Ofgem.
Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) unit
based installer & designer training for GSHP
systems.
Public awareness through the Energy Savings
The GSHP industry needs to move back to growth in
the very near future or it will shrink back to an unsustainable level that will require much new investment to
restart the sector.
Trust (EST) for domestic properties and through
A 5 point Action Plan for England is proposed, to assist in
the Carbon Trust for commercial and industrial
this reinvigoration of the GSHP sector process as follows:
facilitate growth:
The commercial sector RHI needs revising & the
domestic sector RHI needs to be implemented as
soon as possible.
C4SH needs to promote the optimum energy supply solution for the property, not the lowest cost solution that only just meets regulatory requirements.
Certification needs to find the balance between
quality & bureaucracy. In this case, it needs to establish a level playing field between conventional &
environmental technologies.
40
standardised and implemented as soon as possible.
mal systems) to drive high quality design & instal-
points need further clarification & change if they are to
•
est MCS standard and design training needs to be
In the future the interface of GSHP systems with the
Whilst all of the above is commendable, many of these
•
•
QCF units need to be updated to match the lat-
A certification scheme (MCS for sub 45 kW ther-
properties.
•
•
1 Improve installer
training, including
custome r care
training
2 Improve designer
training
3 Promote the
uptake of GSHPs
in social housing &
communities and
public sector
4 Facilitate uptake in
the commercial &
domestic sectors
Addressed by working with the various
interested parties to implement the necessary
improvements as soon as possible Holding promotional sector specific events
Working closely with Government, regulators,
industry and trade associations to implement
the changes to RHI Phase One and Two as
soon as possible.
5 Further R&D on smart Working with the Microgeneration
grids & heat storage
Government Industry Contact Group and
its membership and other stakeholders to
bring forward developments related to GSHP
systems and energy networks & heat storage
The Action Plan of
Västra Götalandsregionen
Research
laboratory in Borås
Oskar Raftegard
The
GEO.POWER
Action
Plan
for
Västra
that already have respect for Swedish Geo Energy
Götalandsregionen (VGR) aims to show how invest-
research. Thirdly, finance regionally based research-
ments from the European Regional Development
ers and SMEs for developing proposals/applying for
Fund in the field of Geo Energy, a Swedish clean tech
research projects in Horizon2020 (earlier not been
export success area, will be one of the most cost
allowed). This facilitates research funding as well
efficient ways to stimulate and increase regional
as cooperation between local clean tech SMEs, re-
growth.
search institutions and with European partners, and
Key actions are to focus ERDF funding on research
and innovation, the development of clean tech SMEs,
strengthen regional (research) collaboration in Geo
in the long run facilitates access to the European
market where Geo Energy still is an emerging key
technology for smart grid systems.
Energy, while using the regional transition to a re-
The regional market for seasonal storages (heating
newable and energy-efficient building sector as the
and cooling) is still immature in VGR. Stimulating
driving force for this development.
this market will create regional job opportunities, add
Clean tech innovations within the field of Geo Energy
are not new to Sweden. The Ground Source Heat
Pump technology was early researched and developed and the government has invested in research
and promotion of heat pumps since the 1970’s. A
value in the real estate sector by saving energy costs,
improve regional energy efficiency, decrease CO2
emissions, increase the share of renewable energy
and not least support above mentioned clean tech
enterprises with a strong and able home market.
rough calculation shows a simple pay-back of only
Proposed actions are independent evaluation and
four days (!) for all tax funded research from mid-
demonstration of existing (and new) storages and
1970’s until mid-2000’s. There are strong research
information/training programmes. One of these
institutions in VGR, both SP Technical Research
initiatives should aim at the finance sector’s com-
Institute of Sweden and Chalmers University of
petence in risk management of investments in sea-
Technology have internationally leading Geo Energy
sonal storages and in development of a generic risk
research and advanced laboratories and there are
model. This should lead to increased funding for
also several manufacturers of components and sub
green investments in storages. A fund for “green
systems in VGR.
loans” could be a complementary action to support
Proposed Actions in the coming programme pe-
the regional Geo Energy market.
riod are to continue with “Research Checks for
SMEs”; these have already helped Geo Energy
SMEs. Secondly, test beds for Borehole Thermal
Energy Storages and for Geo Energy in Near Zero
Energy Buildings are prioritized. Test beds are essential for small clean tech enterprises with limited
resources and attract major international industries
41
The Action Plan of Hungary
with an in-depth focus on the North Great Plain
Zita Dibáczi, Veronika Erős
The geothermal gradient in Hungary significantly exceeds the global average, and represents one of the
natural treasures of the country. So far the direct-heat
utilization of these large and proven hydro geothermal
resources is far below the potentials (Tóth 2010 [21]). The
Realization of
GCHP investments
in Hungary
climate and geography of Hungary are suitable for the
installation of Ground-Coupled Heat Pump systems,
and due to the climatic conditions not only heating
but cooling is also required. Based on the Hungarian
National Renewable Energy Action Plan [NREAP] the
heat pump market is expected to go through one of the
biggest relative changes by 2020 compared to 2010.
According to the NREAP the baseline output of 0,25 PJ
will go up to 5,99 PJ, which represents 5% of the renewable energy mix. Changes in the market share are
influenced by various factors, such as the fact that the
natural gas network covers 90% of Hungary, the ratio
of district heating tariffs, natural gas prices, electricity
tariffs, the economic rate of return, the efficiency of the
es. This subsidized tariff is only available in the heating season. One electricity service provider created its
own heat pump tariff in addition to the mandatory heat
pump tariff, as part of controlled consumption, which
is called Geo tariff. The difference between the subsidized energy tariff and the whole-day A1 energy tariff
is financed by the users of the universal services; the
system-use fees are financed by all users of the system in the medium and long term and (partially) by the
distribution licence holders in the short term.
power grid, etc. but actions have to be taken now to
The potential utilization of the technology is high;
stimulate geothermal energy utilization.
through the GEO.POWER project three foreign heat
Since Hungary has joined the European Union, the
available mainstream funds are the Cohesion Fund and
the European Regional Development Fund, which have
favourable impacts to shift from fossil fuel based energy sources to renewable energy sources. Under the
activities of the Environment and Energy Operational
Programme utilization of geothermal energy and installation of heat pumps systems were eligible.
pump projects have been reviewed and their transferability into Hungary were examined. One of the three foreign pilot projects is a public building [Avenue Center]
that could mostly serve as an example for a similar project in Hungary due to its high technological transferability. It could be linked with the upcoming mainstream
programmes, such as one of the thematic objectives of
the Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 to shift towards a low
carbon economy. The findings and potential transfer-
There are also preferential electricity tariff for the elec-
ability of the other two projects [greenhouse project in
tricity used by consumers for the operation of heat
Antwerp and the Arlanda Airport, Stockholm] should be
pumps called Geo and H tariffs. The “H” tariff is a man-
promoted as well to reach wider range of audience at
datory tariff to operate equipments (e.g. heat pumps,
local level and contribute to the adaptation of interna-
thermal solar collectors, circulation pumps, etc.) for the
tional heat pump projects in Hungary.
21
42
heat supply of buildings from renewable energy sourc-
Tóth, A. (2010). Hungary Country Update 2005-2009. Proceedings, World Geothermal Congress 2010. Bali, Indonesia., 25-29 April
2010. Abstracts
In-depth focus on the Action Plan for the North Great Plain
Zoltan Karacsonyi 1, András Ibrányi 2, Tamás Buday 3, Valeria Szabó 4
1
Expert-Europe
Ltd. and University
of Debrecen
2
North Great
Plain Regional
Development
Agency, Debrecen
3
University of
Debrecen,
4
ENEREA, North
Great Plain
Regional Energy
Agency, Debrecen
In Hunary, the Managing Authority for Environmental
different renewable energy sectors (for instance,
Operational Programmes is responsible for the im-
built in power of GCHP is planned to grow in a great
plementation of the Environmental Operational
extent). GCHP systems have been financed so far by
Programme (2007-13). Parallel with this activity, the
the Operational Programme between 2007-13, how-
Authority is also active in making preparation work
ever, conditions under which a beneficiary could re-
for the next financial period of the European Union of
ceive support were getting softer during years (more
2014-20. Therefore it welcomes every sectorial initi-
technologies, geo tariff systems).
ations that could set out the way for the next period.
Within the GEOPOWER project, the Hungarian partner has started communication with the Authority
and the meetings were quite promising for future cooperation and the success of the action plan as well.
The Environmental Operational Programme contains concrete actions in terms of geothermal heat
and/or power generation and heat pump systems
(heating and cooling) and this sector will also be
very important based on the Hungarian Renewable
Energy Action Plan that sets out future targets for
In order to further improve the performance and implementation of the GCHP investments the NorthGreat Plan region Action Plan includes several
measures.
One of the most important measures is to set up regional Energy Agencies. Based on statistical data,
effectiveness of the Operational Programme is higher in regions where energy agency operates compared to other Hungarian regions where such a body
is not there to provide assistance to stakeholders.
Important action will be the identification of technologies and best practices that fall out of the
scope of the present Environmental Operational
Programme. By collecting these practices, the next
period may provide the floor for wider application for
Heat low map of
the Pannonian
basin [Source:
Geological
Institute of
Hungary,
Annamária Nádor]
the regions to finance renewable installations.
Dissemination activities (local initiatives and forums held at local level applying inputs given by the
project; handbook, mainstreaming activities, etc.)
and Information campaigns/visits of best practices
within the region.
43
* copyright:
Expert Europe Ltd.,
4028 Debrecen,
Gvadanyi u.3,
Hungary
A Decision Support methodology and tool was de-
The data derived from the digital map of the formal
veloped to support the Action Plan and to help the in-
Hungarian Geological Institute. The location and
crease of the GCHP in the region: Applicability Atlas
properties of groundwater are also important for the
for GCHP*
application, such as the depth of the groundwater
The Applicability Atlas for GCHP has been developed
to show the possibilities of application of various
ground source heat pump systems. The primary
circle of the ground source heat pump system may
consist of closed vertical loop(s) or closed horizontal
loop(s) or production-injection wells. Each type has
different demands; consequently each topic has 3
different approaches. The aim is creating an Atlas
(map series) with which the stakeholders (investors,
significant influence on the efficiency of the heat
extraction and the lifetime of the systems. Level of
nature protection (such as national park, landscape
protection area, area of Natura 2000, etc.): the possibility of execution depends on the degree of protection as well as the type and size of the system. In this
issue the harmonization with authorities is crucial.
Location and characteristics of operating/function-
might become acquainted with the possibilities in
ing and future potential drinking water basis are also
installation of ground source heat pump systems.
important components of the Applicability Atlas for
face and shallow depth. The sediments and rocks
determine heat conductivity, specific heat, heat capacity, drilling circumstances, transmissibility, etc.
44
solid and its composition. These properties have
designing engineers, authorities, decision makers)
The most important feature is the geology of the sur-
Geothermal
source in
Hortobágy, NorthGreat Plain Region
level below the surface, the amount of the dissolved
GCHP.
The Action Plan
in the Stockholm region
Erik Björk
The Swedish (and Stockholm region) situation regarding penetration of GCHP (Ground Coupled Heat
Pump) technique differs from many other countries in Europe. More than 400 000 installation exist and currently 30 000 more installations are built
every year. In other words the GCHP technique is
well spread and accepted in Sweden. The technique
is popular among owners of smaller houses since
it offers a problem free, reliable and economically
appealing way of heating a house during the cold
Swedish winter. Some of the factors contributing to
the success of this technique in Sweden are: solid
Drill for heat
pumps installation
in Stockholm
region
bedrock, high taxes on fossil fuel, early research in
the subject, the 1974 energy crises and the long and
relatively cold winters.
Therefre, this action plan is instead focusing on how
setup, an estimation of the possible energy saving
to break new ground for GCHP. One such new area
and a screening of best available techniques. It is es-
was found in one of the Best Practise’s presented
timated that this greenhouse can be realised during
within the GEO.POWER project; the greenhouse in
2014-2020 at a cost of about 2 M€.
Antwerpen. Therefore, a pilot setup of a greenhouse
designed to produce tomatoes all around the year
Secondly, the action plan will address a dark spot in
in the Stockholm region, operating by state of the
most people’s knowledge about GCHP technique.
art technology such as the closed greenhouse con-
Where does the free energy pumped up from below
cept, GCHP, geothermal storage, LED light etc. will
come from? It is surprising how many people that as-
be targeted in the action plan. It has been shown
sociate this energy with fossil fuel, a view that may
that cold countries can produce tomatoes all around
even include decision makers. This view is clearly an
the year. In Finland most tomatoes are produced
unnecessary pocket of resistance against GCHP and
locally. However, their greenhouses are typically
contradicts EU’s view which clearly states that geo-
heated by burning gas and oil. As today the 10 kg
thermal energy (low or high enthalpy) should be re-
tomatoes yearly consumed by an average person in
garded as renewable. Therefore an information cam-
the Stockholm region is transported on lorries from
paign will be planned with the simple message that
Holland. This transport alone uses about 2 kWh/kg
geothermal heat comes from the sun. Polls will be
tomatoes, which can be recalculated into 68 g CO2
undertaken before and after the campaign to ensure
emitted for each kg tomatoes. It is hoped that this
that a goal of 10% increased awareness is achieved.
novel greenhouse will stand model for other cold
It is estimated that this information campaign can be
country greenhouses in the future. The action plan
launched during 2014 at a cost of 50 – 100 k€.
will include a plan on how to implement this pilot
45
The Action Plan
of Emilia-Romagna Region
Luca Martelli, Fabio Molinari, Maria Carla Centineo
Geological map,
Emilia-Romagna
region
Background information The exploitation of geothermal energy is included in
the Operative Programme of the Emilia-Romagna
Region (ER). At the end of 2010 the installed geothermal power in ER was about 23 MWt, resulting
mainly from district heating (Ferrara and Bagno di
Romagna ), historic spa resorts (Bagno di Romagna,
Porretta, Bobbio, and others) and about 80-90 GCHP.
The Regional Energy Plan (PER) is expected to in-
tion is 2013-2020. The concerned stakeholders are
crease to about 33-38 MWt installed capacity at the
public administration, local industrial and municipal-
end of 2013 and to about 50 MWt in 2020.
ity about geothermal energy for district heating and
Legislation framework professionals.
The development/design of GCHP has to be made
Action n. 2 “Regulatory simplification and ad hoc
taking into account the protection of aquifers and
legislation for GCHP” groundwater. Open-loop systems, collection and dis-
In order to encourage the spread of GCHP Technology
charge or reinjection of water in the aquifer of origin
it is necessary to outline a clear regulatory frame-
are already regulated by national and local rules. On
work for closed-loops systems in order to facilitate
the contrary, a national rule for closed-loops systems
the operators to obtain authorizations, encouraging,
doesn’t exist. The national Legislative Decree 22/2010
where the hydrogeological conditions permit, the
delegates this task to the Regional Authorities, on the
simplification of the authorization procedures. The
basis of national guidelines (not yet published). In ab-
timeframe for the implementation of the action is
sence of the national guidelines, the ER decided that
2013-2020. The concerned stakeholders are private
each project must be supported by a hydrogeological
citizens, local administrative bodies and companies.
report and the permission act has to contain specific
requirements for protection of groundwater.
Action n. 3 “Dissemination and Training” It is necessary to explain the potential of GCHP tech-
Three ctions has been identified as priority to support
nology to the different employees in the private sector
large scale introduction of GCHP in Emilia-Romagna
and to the citizens through training and dissemina-
Action n. 1 “Exploration and Exploitation” This action consists in developing geothermal research
for characterization of low enthalpy resources and
modelling the exploitation of the geothermal reservoir.
46
The timeframe for the implementation of the ac-
tion of best practices. The Region should disseminate knowledge and data by web and publications
and should organize courses with the collaboration
of the interested professional associations. At this
purpose, the GEO.POWER final handbook will have
At the same time it is necessary to collect all avail-
a key role in rising awareness over this technology.
able data about GCHP (both closed and open loop
The timeframe for the implementation of the action
systems) and to set up a register of GCHP and a
is 2013-2020. The concerned stakeholders are citi-
database to updated continuously. These are funda-
zens, house owners, professionals and operators of
mental tool for land planning and management.
the construction sector.
The Action Plan of Estonia
Alvar Soesoo, Uku Sukles
GCHP sales and
output capacity in
Estonia, 20072011
Source: Estonian
Heat Pump
Association
The Estonian Action Plan (E-AP) provides a set of
legislative, technical, economical and marketing initiatives. The best practices from participating partners play a vital role in arriving at the most cost and
energy efficient solutions to support ground-cou-
The market is mostly dominated by horizontally in-
pled heat pump (GCHP) application at wider scale
stalled systems rather than vertical. One of the main
in local context. The activities are to be carried out
reasons, according to experts in the field, is that the
in co-operation with Ministry of Environment and
administrative application process for drilling per-
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications
mits (and energy wells) is insufficiently regulated in
(Management
the legislation. This issue is thoroughly addressed
Authorities)
and
the
Estonian
Geothermal Association.
Market trends E-AP considers local market history and current sit-
with several proposals to change the status quo towards a more transparent process by providing suggestions how to adjust the Estonian Water Act.
uation to support the future growth through strategi-
In co-operation with Tallinn University of Technology,
cally planned initiatives. GCHP systems have been
it is also proposed to set up a special course for
installed in Estonia since beginning of 1990’s. In
GCHP system designers and drillers of energy wells.
2012, the total installations amount to about 7500-
It is put forward to develop a curriculum dealing with
8000 systems. In previous years, the sales have sta-
this area of expertise to provide a sustainable out-
bilized, but mostly for small-scale systems, which
look for the sector in general.
is also characterized by moderate output capacity
(Graph above).
Supportive measures The project partner in Estonia, Institute of Geology
Initiatives at Tallinn University of Technology has joined forc-
In Estonia there are no direct incentive schemes to
es with the Estonian Geothermal Association (EGA:
support GHCP. Even though there are funds aimed
www.geothermal.org.ee). EGA will continue address-
at stimulating the deployment of complete solutions
ing the activities of GEO.POWER project after official
such as insulation of residential buildings com-
ending by also dealing with a wide-scale of market-
bined with efficient heating and ventilation solutions,
ing initiatives such as organizing forums, seminars
GCHP installations independently do not classify as
and dissemination activities to improve the public
renewable energy sources (RES), due to use of elec-
knowledge of GCHP advantages in cost-cutting and
tricity. E-AP has a set of initiatives to include GCHP
energy efficient solutions.
as RES in future incentive schemes (including industrial scale, e.g. district heating), which in result would
also increase the output capacity of renewable energy while curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
47
The Action Plan of Belgium
Ben Laenen, Eva De Boever, David Lagrou
The Action Plan for Belgium is chiefly based on the
Meeting with
the stakeholders
and investors in
Belgium
outcomes of the regional GEO.POWER workshop
held in Brussels on 13 March 2012. The successful
workshop, both in terms of attendance and results,
brought together stakeholders, government representatives and researchers with interest in shallow
and deep geothermal applications. Both applications
show clearly different needs, which result in other
definition of actions. Concrete actions in the action
plan are:
Further clarification of regulations for the realization of shallow and deep geothermal projects.
Consultation between all government levels involved as well as relevant stakeholders: Politicallygovernmental Belgium is subdivided in regions
(Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels). Depending on
the matter, legislations exist at different levels.
Geothermal applications fall under regional legis-
ers: Capacity building for technicians already exists
(GeoTrainet), but training of non-technical persons
(decision makers, architects, (end)users) for shallow
and deep applications are lacking in Belgium.
Advanced exploration of the deep subsurface for
its geothermal potential: As geological exploration
is cost intensive, government should take initiatives to facilitate exploration of unknown areas (a.o.
private-public initiatives). Filling the existing gaps in
geological knowledge of the deep subsurface is necessary for government to develop a smart permitting
system.
lation (environment, natural resources and spatial
Creation of a GEO.Platform: the deep subsurface is
planning), but might have impact on matters gov-
of interest for different applications such as geother-
erned at the local or federal level (strategic energy
my, shale and coal gas extraction, underground stor-
issues).
age of natural gas, CO2 and nuclear waste. Currently,
Development of a number of demonstration projects, monitored over longer time periods to objectively demonstrate the technical performance and
economic feasibility: The best way to convince potential investors is to show that shallow and deep
geothermal applications work in a reliable and eco-
48
Capacity building for non-technical stakehold-
parties with different activities might target the same
reservoirs. This might lead to ‘conflicts of interest’.
Therefore, better coordination and exchange of exploration activities should be organized, which could
lead to jointly financed seismic surveys and exploration drilling.
nomically feasible way. Realization could come from
Gathering reliable statistic data about shallow geo-
private, public or joined investments. Exemplary
thermal applications: There is a lack of numbers that
cases should be selected: public owned buildings
illustrate the market evolution of shallow geothermal
whether or not connected to a district heating net-
applications. In Belgium there is no national or re-
work; office buildings; greenhouses and private
gional database available to document evolution of
houses (stock houses).
green heat projects.
The Action Plan of Slovenia
Joerg Prestor, Dušan Rajver, Andrej Lapanje,
Simona Pestotnik
Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) with an important good attribute and also particular advantages
in comparison with other energy resources are in
Slovenia nowadays certainly not exploited to the
The three core actions which aim at future GSHP de-
extent as could be. Current share (6ktoe) of GSHPs
velopment and penetration in Slovenia are:
and projections (43ktoe) published in the National
Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) are relatively
small in the share 1% of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption, they have significant share
7% in renewable heating and cooling (H&C) technologies and can significantly contribute to sustainable
energy production for H&C of all types of buildings
Action n. 1: Improvement of administrative procedures (OP for Human Resources Development)
introducing clear criteria for permitting the installations, permitting procedure in one step and at one
place and establishing the GSHP information system “One-stop shop”.
and many other applications. Exploitation of ex-
Action n. 2: Quantifying GSHP energy delivery
tremely huge potential of the Earth`s internal heat by
(OP for Strengthening Regional Development
GSHP is energy of future. GSHPs use in-exhaustive
Potentials) improving evidence of GSHPs energy
source of energy, they increase independence of ac-
contribution, transferring national targets to local
cess to energy and introduce open system, with no
communities and setting detailed regional targets.
need for concentration of flow and transport.
The contribution
of GSHPs for the
renewable heating
and cooling (H&C)
technologies,
calculated
growth rates and
projections for
GSHP in the period
2010 – 2020
specified for 3
scenarios.
Action n. 3: GSHP subsidies for large-scale project
Graph 1 shows the contribution of GSHPs of renew-
and innovative systems (OP of Environmental and
able H&C technologies and calculated growth rates.
Transport Infrastructure Development) developing
Growth rate from NREAP is generally higher than ac-
a scaling-up plan (renovation, new buildings), es-
tual and should rise from 13 to 22% in period 2010-
tablishment of preconditions for scaling up (call for
2020. A GSHP technology is still in the early phase of
proposal) and implementing the scaling-up process
market penetration; therefore a specific attention is
and measuring the impacts of subsidies. Criteria to
required at Slovenian GSHP market, including dem-
be accomplished to receive the financing are inno-
onstration projects, regulatory instruments, educa-
vative designs and technologies (ATES, BTES) which
tion and dissemination.
are still absent in Slovenia.
The GEO.POWER Action Plan provides an extensive
analysis and actions for GSHP application at wide
scale through structural policy SI 2014-2020:
•
Progress of existing incentives and efficient evi-
•
Radically facilitate and accelerate the adminis-
•
dence of GSHP contribution to RES,
trative procedures,
Introduce additional subsidies for large & innovative GSHP systems.
49
Conclusions
GEO.POWER: a bridge towards
the EU 20-20-20 energy objectives
Luca Angelino, Philippe Dumas, Beatrice Giambastiani, Marco Meggiolaro
In the current Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, statis-
instruments to fight the crisis and support the sus-
tics show that, in the field of the renewable energy
tainable growth of EU regions.
sources only a limited amount of available resources
is actually used. For instance, until 2011 in the category dedicated to hydroelectric, geothermal and
other – only 12% of the EU amount (out of 1.1bn
Every initiative able to produce investments policies,
generate multiplier effects and make a better use of
Structural Funds becomes crucial.
EUR adopted by the Operational Programmes) has
The core results achieved by GEO.POWER project
effectively been allocated to implement projects and
have consisted in the elaboration of one action plan
operations. Indeed, one of the missions of the new
for each involved region to encourage the GCHP
Cohesion Policy is to increase the performance and
market development in the frame of the existing
the impact of the funds: this is a demanding task in
normative platforms and through the use of EU
times of crisis, since the goal is to reduce disparities
Structural Funds in the current and – above all – in
between Europe’s regions and strengthening eco-
the future Programming Period 2014 - 2020.
nomic, social and territorial cohesion. In this context,
GEO.POWER
project team in
front of the geyser
at Sapareva Bania,
Bulgaria
50
the promotion of R&D, addressing policies that help
Each action plan paves the way towards the trans-
the competitiveness of European SMEs in the global
ferability of the adapted best practices into the
markets and the shift towards a low carbon econo-
Mainstreaming Programmes and energy regu-
my are different aspects of the same challenge: give
lations plans of the project partners’ regions.
GEO.POWER
workshop in
Stockholm,
Sweden
All documents contain a set of potential flanking meas-
of buildings, pilot projects, innovation, etc., but they
ures to be implemented in the concerned areas to ad-
are neither explicit priorities in the OP 2007-2013 nor
dress strategies for the GCHP large scale introduction
in the forthcoming OP 2014-2020 of all members’
and subsidy schemes to support geothermal energy
regions. The development targets to 2020 vary in
investments. Therefore, these action plans represent a
the concerned regions but generally there is an up-
regional and – in certain cases – a national roadmap to
growing trend in the GCHP installations.
budget resources, to figure out grant schemes and to
overcome technological and no-technological market
The main target group is the competent Managing
barriers that – all together – could facilitate the low-
Authority of the Structural Funds that will be in
enthalpy geothermal energy deployment.
charge of defining investment strategies and man-
In order to make the project result significantly important on large scale, it is essential to establish
common interpretation of the action plans and find
guidelines for key elements within the developed
documents.
aging funds and incentives. However, the action
plans also need to be agreed and supported by the
relevant stakeholders (companies, municipalities,
nongovernmental organizations, public institutes,
technicians, engineers, research institutes, SME enterprises, etc.) in each of the participating region. In
In many cases geothermal energy and heat pump
most of the presented cases, the negotiation of the
systems are mentioned in the sustainable use of en-
local action plans with the respective MA and key-
ergy priority, energy restoration and sustainable use
stakeholders are on-going.
51
The analysis of partners’ action plans shows some
general and common approach for the best use of
performance of GCHP by quantifying energy
delivery, and by selecting a number of demon-
vestments. The most relevant core actions consist in:
stration projects that have been monitored over
adopting incentives and increasing the existing
a longer time period in order to objectively dem-
ones for both low and high enthalpy geothermal
onstrate the efficient GCHP contribution to RES.
applications (e.g. financial incentives during the
Another recommended action to improve sys-
start-up phase, tax releases or tax credits for
tem efficiency and life of installations is the de-
both commercial companies and households,
velopment of recommendations and guidelines
low cost loans, discounted electricity feed-in tar-
for hydrogeological studies and GCHP system
iffs for energy saving derived by GCHP systems);
design;
•
introducing additional support (e.g. tax rebate for
installations) for large and innovative systems
(ATES, BTES, smart grids, renovations, district
heating systems, etc.). Although the institutions
(public and private) in charge of the schemes to
•
•
introducing legislative measures for the installation of geothermal GCHP in order to outline a
clear regulatory framework;
facilitating and accelerating the administrative
procedures towards clear criteria and regula-
incentivise the diffusion of the GCHP technol-
tions for permitting installations and the estab-
ogy have been identified in most of the project
lishment of a GCHP information system to sup-
regions, the efficiency of the financial incentives
port the procedure;
themselves are not always well known. Financial
incentives are not often based on the energy ef-
•
supporting exploration and exploitation of
geothermal reservoirs and strengthening re-
fectively delivered, CO2 reductions, etc. In this
search, technological development, innovation
case reliable and comparable statistics are sug-
in order to increase the potential of geothermal
gested as well as a quantification of the progress
applications;
towards national targets;
52
showing the economic feasibility and technical
EU Structural Funds to address GCHP large scale in-
•
Local round table
to present the
project actions,
Slovenia
•
Within all the above mentioned actions, also mar-
geothermal energy investment campaign ever done
keting measures (such as further dissemination of
in the Adriatic euro-region with the purpose of pro-
GEO.POWER project results; promotion campaigns
moting of the use of GCHP technologies to strength-
for changing public’s opinion about GCHP; good
en its applicability for energy savings and environ-
training schemes for technicians, installers and en-
mental purposes. Here, knowledge exchange with
gineers; and communication with decision-makers)
the Balkan countries, physical energy requalification
have been identified as important strategies to in-
of public buildings and a strong marketing strategy
crease awareness and effectively push less expe-
should lead to a better awareness over the geother-
rienced regions to invest in such green-economy,
mal energy in the concerned regions. This is a con-
while more experienced regions can get exposed to
crete application of the GEO.POWER lesson.
new ideas and practical solutions in the geothermal
energy field.
In conclusion, geothermal heat pumps can decidedly contribute to the achievement of the main EU’s en-
An outstanding case comes from Ferrara, which
ergy and climate targets. In order to spur their mar-
will be capitalising the results of GEO.POWER in a
ket uptake across the EU, flanking measures such
follow-up project called LEGEND “Low Enthalpy
as a regulatory framework, training activities and
Geothermal ENergy Demonstration cases for Energy
certification schemes are put in place. Against this
Efficient building in Adriatic area”. This project -
background, some member states have developed
implemented under the IPA Adriatic Cross-border
ambitious targets for GSHPs, while some other is
Cooperation Programme - launches the biggest
still unaware of the many benefits of this technology.
Study visit at the
ENI power-plant,
Italy
53
Example of heat
pump room,
courtesy of Hera
spa
Increasing awareness about geothermal even fur-
In order to compensate the advantages given to
ther and spreading the know-how so far developed
the oil & gas sector, a series of supportive policies
in some forefront countries is still crucial. This needs
for the promotion of geothermal and other genuine
to be done along with a radical rethinking of the heat
technologies needs to be perpetuated beyond 2020,
market in which renewables could be placed on the
with the final objectives of establishing a level play-
same footing as conventional and well consolidated
ing field. In a market healed of all its current market
technologies, including in terms of knowledge, skills,
failures, the increased development of geothermal
market design and competition, and internalisation
will render energy more affordable and sustainable
of external costs into the final price.
and will contribute to address the problem of energy
poverty which today mainly focuses on heat in the
EU’s societies.
54
Partners
Province of Ferrara,
Italy, Lead Partner
Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving,
Greece
Ministry of Regional Development
and Public Works, Bulgaria
Észak-Alföld
Regional Energy
Agency Nonprofit LLC,
Hungary
Reading Borough Council, UK
Technical Research Institute,
Sweden
National Environmental Protection and
Energy Center Non-Profit Ltd, Hungary
Royal Institute of Technology,
Sweden
Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy
Institute of Geology
at Tallinn University of Technology,
Estonia
VITO – Flemish Institute for
Technological Research, Belgium
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SLOVENIA
Associated partner
European Geothermal Energy Council
with the cooperation of
UNIVERSITY OF FERRARA
Earth Science Department
EURIS s.r.l.
project coordination unit
leImmagini edizioni
via Baluardi 57
44121 Ferrara
www.leimmagini.it
ISBN: xxx-xx-xxxxxx-x-x
Communication project:
studio leImmagini
Printed by:
xxx
Editing closed on
september 2012
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The overall objective of the INTERREG IVC Programme
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areas of support are innovation and the knowledge
economy, environment, energy and risk prevention.