IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v301y2024ics0360544224014683.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A methodology for feasibility analyses of district heating networks: A case study applied to greenhouse crops

Author

Listed:
  • Ramos-Teodoro, Jerónimo
  • Álvarez, José Domingo
  • Torres, José Luis

Abstract

In this article, the preliminary routing, sizing, and cost structure of a heat network that supplies energy, in an agrarian district, to greenhouses located around a cogeneration plant in the municipality of El Ejido (Almería) is presented. A genetic algorithm is employed to select a set of points of consumption (plots of land)–which indirectly determine the network routing over the road network–resulting in a project with a better net present value. To obtain the routing, the Steiner tree problem is solved through an approximation that involves several algorithms derived from graph theory and the use of georeferenced information. The design is constrained to ensure technical feasibility, so that the available thermal power from the plant, averaged for hourly periods over a year, is greater than the demand from the greenhouses. The said demand is calculated through an empty-greenhouse climate model, considering temperature setpoints compatible with the most common crops in the region. According to the results, a network of total length equal to 1.3464 km and an average pipe diameter of 0.1532 m would be required to annually supply 8621.4 MWh of heat to 12 points of consumption. The net present value of the project would be 6 417 900 €, considering a 3% discount rate and useful life of 30 years, with an initial investment cost of 1 723 300 € and an annual operation cost of 15 800 €year−1. A sensibility analysis of the variables with greater economic impact is also presented.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramos-Teodoro, Jerónimo & Álvarez, José Domingo & Torres, José Luis, 2024. "A methodology for feasibility analyses of district heating networks: A case study applied to greenhouse crops," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:301:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224014683
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.131695
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544224014683
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2024.131695?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oh, Saesin & Kim, Sang-Kee, 2022. "Impact of heat price regulation on the optimal district heating production mix and its policy implications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PD).
    2. Finkenrath, Matthias & Faber, Till & Behrens, Fabian & Leiprecht, Stefan, 2022. "Holistic modelling and optimisation of thermal load forecasting, heat generation and plant dispatch for a district heating network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    3. Nussbaumer, T. & Thalmann, S., 2016. "Influence of system design on heat distribution costs in district heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 496-505.
    4. Boghetti, Roberto & Kämpf, Jérôme H., 2024. "Verification of an open-source Python library for the simulation of district heating networks with complex topologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    5. Persson, Urban & Werner, Sven, 2011. "Heat distribution and the future competitiveness of district heating," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 568-576, March.
    6. Romero-Ramos, J.A. & Gil, J.D. & Cardemil, J.M. & Escobar, R.A. & Arias, I. & Pérez-García, M., 2023. "A GIS-AHP approach for determining the potential of solar energy to meet the thermal demand in southeastern Spain productive enclaves," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    7. Gils, Hans Christian & Cofala, Janusz & Wagner, Fabian & Schöpp, Wolfgang, 2013. "GIS-based assessment of the district heating potential in the USA," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 318-329.
    8. Merlet, Yannis & Baviere, Roland & Vasset, Nicolas, 2022. "Formulation and assessment of multi-objective optimal sizing of district heating network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    9. Soltero, Víctor M. & Quirosa, Gonzalo & Rodríguez, Diego & Peralta, M. Estela & Ortiz, Carlos & Chacartegui, Ricardo, 2023. "A profitability index for rural biomass district heating systems evaluation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    10. Wack, Yannick & Serra, Sylvain & Baelmans, Martine & Reneaume, Jean-Michel & Blommaert, Maarten, 2023. "Nonlinear topology optimization of District Heating Networks: A benchmark of a mixed-integer and a density-based approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PB).
    11. Johansen, Katinka & Werner, Sven, 2022. "Something is sustainable in the state of Denmark: A review of the Danish district heating sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    12. Werner, Sven, 2017. "International review of district heating and cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 617-631.
    13. Unternährer, Jérémy & Moret, Stefano & Joost, Stéphane & Maréchal, François, 2017. "Spatial clustering for district heating integration in urban energy systems: Application to geothermal energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 749-763.
    14. Maria Jebamalai, Joseph & Marlein, Kurt & Laverge, Jelle & Vandevelde, Lieven & van den Broek, Martijn, 2019. "An automated GIS-based planning and design tool for district heating: Scenarios for a Dutch city," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 487-496.
    15. Otgonbayar, Tuvshinjargal & Mazzotti, Marco, 2024. "Modeling and assessing the integration of CO2 capture in waste-to-energy plants delivering district heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    16. Liu, Yanfeng & Tang, Huanlong & Chen, Yaowen & Wang, Dengjia & Song, Cong, 2022. "Optimization of layout and diameter for distributed solar heating network with multi-source and multi-sink," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    17. Salenbien, R. & Wack, Y. & Baelmans, M. & Blommaert, M., 2023. "Geographically informed automated non-linear topology optimization of district heating networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Persson, Urban & Wiechers, Eva & Möller, Bernd & Werner, Sven, 2019. "Heat Roadmap Europe: Heat distribution costs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 604-622.
    2. Mengting Jiang & Camilo Rindt & David M. J. Smeulders, 2022. "Optimal Planning of Future District Heating Systems—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-38, September.
    3. Xu, Han & Zhang, Lu & Wang, Xuanbo & Han, Baocheng & Luo, Zhengyuan & Bai, Bofeng, 2024. "Improved genetic algorithm for pipe diameter optimization of an existing large-scale district heating network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    4. Leurent, Martin, 2019. "Analysis of the district heating potential in French regions using a geographic information system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Dong, Zhe & Cheng, Zhonghua & Zhu, Yunlong & Zhang, Zuoyi & Dong, Yujie & Huang, Xiaojin, 2024. "Passivity-based control of fluid flow networks with capacitance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    6. Bachmann, Max & Kriegel, Martin, 2023. "Assessing the heat distribution costs of linear and radial district heating networks: A methodological approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    7. Ziemele, Jelena & Cilinskis, Einars & Blumberga, Dagnija, 2018. "Pathway and restriction in district heating systems development towards 4th generation district heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 108-118.
    8. Möller, Bernd & Wiechers, Eva & Persson, Urban & Grundahl, Lars & Connolly, David, 2018. "Heat Roadmap Europe: Identifying local heat demand and supply areas with a European thermal atlas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 281-292.
    9. Leurent, Martin & Da Costa, Pascal & Jasserand, Frédéric & Rämä, Miika & Persson, Urban, 2018. "Cost and climate savings through nuclear district heating in a French urban area," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 616-630.
    10. Lambert, Jerry & Spliethoff, Hartmut, 2024. "A two-phase nonlinear optimization method for routing and sizing district heating systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    11. Möller, Bernd & Wiechers, Eva & Persson, Urban & Grundahl, Lars & Lund, Rasmus Søgaard & Mathiesen, Brian Vad, 2019. "Heat Roadmap Europe: Towards EU-Wide, local heat supply strategies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 554-564.
    12. Sachs, Julia & Moya, Diego & Giarola, Sara & Hawkes, Adam, 2019. "Clustered spatially and temporally resolved global heat and cooling energy demand in the residential sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 48-62.
    13. Mc Guire, Jason & Petrović, Stefan N. & Daly, Hannah & Rogan, Fionn & Smith, Andrew & Balyk, Olexandr, 2024. "Is District Heating a cost-effective solution to decarbonise Irish buildings?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    14. Lizana, Jesús & Ortiz, Carlos & Soltero, Víctor M. & Chacartegui, Ricardo, 2017. "District heating systems based on low-carbon energy technologies in Mediterranean areas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 397-416.
    15. Leurent, Martin & Da Costa, Pascal & Rämä, Miika & Persson, Urban & Jasserand, Frédéric, 2018. "Cost-benefit analysis of district heating systems using heat from nuclear plants in seven European countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 454-472.
    16. Annette Steingrube & Keyu Bao & Stefan Wieland & Andrés Lalama & Pithon M. Kabiro & Volker Coors & Bastian Schröter, 2021. "A Method for Optimizing and Spatially Distributing Heating Systems by Coupling an Urban Energy Simulation Platform and an Energy System Model," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, May.
    17. Aunedi, Marko & Pantaleo, Antonio Marco & Kuriyan, Kamal & Strbac, Goran & Shah, Nilay, 2020. "Modelling of national and local interactions between heat and electricity networks in low-carbon energy systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    18. Golmohamadi, Hessam & Larsen, Kim Guldstrand & Jensen, Peter Gjøl & Hasrat, Imran Riaz, 2022. "Integration of flexibility potentials of district heating systems into electricity markets: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    19. Marco Pellegrini & Augusto Bianchini, 2018. "The Innovative Concept of Cold District Heating Networks: A Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, January.
    20. Alessandro Guzzini & Marco Pellegrini & Edoardo Pelliconi & Cesare Saccani, 2020. "Low Temperature District Heating: An Expert Opinion Survey," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-34, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:301:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224014683. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.