In the current situation the district heating system supplies the 32% of the total thermal consumption in the City of Velika Gorica. The main issue in the district heating system is the utilization of 14 small and distributed heat plants, each providing heat to a separate and individually disconnected heating grid. Reduction of costs and CO 2 emissions can be reached with a high penetration of renewable sources. The aim of this paper is to evaluate and design the integration of a central solar heating plant with seasonal storage into the district heating system of the city. An economic assessment was made with a pessimistic and an optimistic prediction of the solar heat cost for ground mounted collectors and roof mounted collectors. The seasonal storage was chosen to be pit thermal energy storage; the system was modeled as a low-temperature district heating system with the real thermal demands of a district heating plant.
Los jóvenes están alarmados por la insostenibilidad, pero se desvinculan de actitudes pro-sostenibles al considerar que los actos individuales no tienen efecto. Por ello, se presenta la metodología para la creación, desarrollo y evaluación de una iniciativa liderada por jóvenes estudiantes voluntarios en pos de la sostenibilidad, basada en crear espacios de reflexión, debate, autocrítica y motivación. Los resultados muestran un impacto real en el comportamiento individual de los estudiantes, un 82% está motivado a hacer un cambio y un 65% está realizando cambios en sus hábitos. Además, surgieron iniciativas y colaboraciones entre asistentes y ponentes buscando transformar la sociedad.
This study develops a methodology to assess the energy transition’s territorial, ecological and material impacts on regions. As a case study, the methodology is applied to the Cantabrian-Mediterranean Bioregion, a geographical area constituting eight autonomous communities located in the north of Spain. Two energy demand scenarios for 2030 and 2050 were assessed. The 2030 scenario is based on the Spanish government’s planning, and the 2050 scenario constitutes a net-zero emission economy based on electrification. Energy dependence between autonomous communities, energy and raw material needs, and availability are obtained for both scenarios. Results show a high imbalance between energy producer–consumer autonomous communities and an ecological and critical material deficit for the Bioregion. Two alternative scenarios are proposed, one based on self-sufficiency to ensure a balanced energy transition and another based on energy and material efficiency seeking that the ecological and critical material footprints do not surpass the planet’s carrying capacity. The indicators and methodology proposed can be easily replicated elsewhere and help develop more equitable and sustainable territorial planning strategies.
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