On behalf of a municipality, Common Futures provided an independent second opinion on a selection of heating solutions for a future new housing estate.
Due to grid congestion, all-electric heating was not a viable option in this neighbourhood. Therefore, several collective heat supply variants were investigated, including medium and low-temperature grids, with different available waste heat sources. In selecting the solutions, the phased development of the neighbourhood had to be taken into account, ensuring that the chosen solution was feasible and guaranteed to provide heat at each stage.
Common Futures assessed whether the pre-selected heat options presented a complete picture and were based on the right assumptions. In the end, Common Futures recommended exploring a new option where residual heat from a nearby sewage treatment plant (WWTP) is deployed, and peak heat demand is met by a power plant running on the (available) biogas from the WWTP. That plant could also be deployed to generate power for the heat pumps during times of grid congestion, to spare the grid.
Our work helped give direction to the follow-up study and present well-founded choices to stakeholders.