The European Commission has been recognized DH technology of essential importance to reach the sustainability. A flexibility in the fuel mix, and possibilities of industrial waste heat utilization, combined heat and power (CHP) production and energy recovery through waste incineration, are only some of the benefits which characterize DH technology.

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the possible business strategies which would enable for DH to have an important role towards future sustainable energy systems. The study includes a system approach where DH is seen as a part of an integrated system which consists of transport‑, industrial-, and electricity sectors as well.

Converting energy for running the industrial processes from fossil fuels and electricity to DH and delivering excess heat from industrial processes, would make the industry less dependent on fossil fuels and fossil fuel-based electricity, as well as increase energy efficiency and reduce production costs. Reducing the electricity use in the industry sector while at the same time increasing the CHP production in the local DH systems would (1) replace fossil-based electricity production with electricity in biomass- or waste-fueled CHP plants, and reduce the capacity requirements from the national electricity grid (i.e. it would reduce the pressure on the bottle necks in the grid). Furthermore, by operating their central controlled heat pumps and CHP plants depending on the intermittent electricity production variation the DH companies may enable an increased share of intermittent electricity production in the national electricity grid.

Swedens goal of 100% renewable electricity generation by 2040 requires investments in intermittent electricity production (e.g. wind power). However, increasing the share of intermittent electricity production presents challenges, including reduced flexibility of electricity production. A strategy for overcoming this issue is developing flexibility in electricity consumption. This study analyses the potential for using flexible industrial processes, heat pumps (HP), and combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Swedish district heating systems to increase the share of wind power capacity without compromising grid stability. The simulation tool EnergyPLAN was used to assess the potential contribution of these strategies. The analysis includes a range of annual wind power production between 45 and 60 TWh. The required electricity imports and critical excess electricity (that can neither be used nor exported due to transmission line limitations) were used to evaluate the systems stability. Managing the operation of CHP plants, HPs, and industrial processes in a flexible way is challenging, but these strategies may still play a decisive role in increasing the share of renewable electricity production and reducing demand peaks in cities. Whilst HP regulation is better at reducing excess electricity production at lower wind power capacities (from 32 to 15% for the analysed interval of wind power production), CHP regulation becomes more relevant when wind power capacity increases (from 14 to 39%). Like HP regulation, flexibility in electricity demand in industrial processes had a greater percentage contribution at lower wind power capacities. Combining HP, CHP regulation, and flexible electricity demands in industry can reduce excess electricity production by 68-80% and electricity imports by 14-26%. Wind power contributing to grid stabilisation reduces excess electricity production but does not reduce electricity imports.

There are several barriers to increased use of biofuel in the transport sector (e.g., shortage of feedstocks, high production costs, and relatively low energy yields from standalone biofuel plants). One possible solution is integration of biofuel and district heating (DH) production. This study aims (1) to identify challenges (e.g. tradeoffs) related to integration and to suggests possible ways of dealing with these challenges, (2) to highlight factors that may influence effects on global GHG emissions from integration, (3) to highlight factors which should be considered when evaluating economic aspects related to integration. After conducting a systematic review using a prescribed and structured protocol, 38 articles were identified as relevant for this study. These articles present four different approaches for integration: delivering the excess heat from biorefineries to DH networks, utilising DH in biofuel production processes, integrating biofuel production with existing DH facilities, and building new polygeneration biofuel production facilities in DH systems (DHS).If investments in biofuel compete with combined heat and power (CHP) production, the electricity price and the premium paid for renewable electricity influence profitability in CHP plants investments and therefore even profitability in investments in biofuel production. Competition should also be considered when weighing environmental benefits (the influence on global GHG emissions). Competition can create trade-offs related to DHSs operating conditions, limited local and global biomass availability, and limited available heat sinks. To deal with these trade-offs and to avoid suboptimization, stakeholders in regional planning, investors and policymakers should cooperate.All identified studies noted that a comprehensive approach is needed to evaluate profitability aspects and effects on global GHG emissions.For instance, utilising excess heat or residues from a biofuel production process in a DHS requires consideration of alternative DH production and alternative fuels. If electricity is one of the by-products from the biofuel production, alternative electricity production should also be considered. The majority of the studies dealt with economic performance of integration. Some of the factors found to influence profitability include available heat sink, alternative DH and electricity production, expected operation patterns, energy policy and energy market conditions. The potential for reducing global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions depends on alternative DH and electricity production but also on biomass availability and alternative biomass users.

The highly varying character of district heating (DH) demand results in low capacity utilization of the DH plants, as well as increased use of fossil fuels during peak demand. The aim of this study is to present an overview and a comprehensive classification of measures intended to manage these load variations. A systematic literature review was conducted based on previously defined search strings as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two scientific databases were used as data sources. Based on 96 detected publications, the measures were categorized as (1) complementing DH production in heat-only boilers (HOBs), or geothermal or booster heat pumps (HPs) (usually controlled by the DH company), (2) thermal energy (TE) storage in storage units or in the network (controlled by the company), and (3) demand side measures, which can be strategic demand increase, direct demand response (DR), or indirect DR. While the company has control over direct DR (e.g., thermal storage in the thermal mass of the buildings), indirect DR is based on communication between the customer and the company, where the customer has complete control. The multi-disciplinary nature of this topic requires an interdisciplinary approach.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (Corporate Standard) and the EU frameworks of guarantees of origin (GO) and emissions disclosure of energy carriers are intended to inform decision -making and reduce GHG emissions. This study analyses how decisions on purchases of electricity and district heating and decisions on combined heat and power (CHP) production are incentivised by the Corporate Standard and EU frameworks. It also analyses how the EU frameworks relate to CO2 emissions reductions through CHP production. Using a consequential CO2 assessment method for comparison, the study shows that purchasing decisions supported by the Corporate Standard or the GO scheme can increase total CO2 emissions. It also shows that the Corporate Standard and EU frameworks can counteract CHP production and its contribution to CO2 emissions reduction. We recommend that consequential GHG assessment methods be used for emissions reduction decisions, including when designing policy instruments aimed at emissions reduction. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

Presently, waste is regarded as any other fuel in the Swedish district heating (DH) plants where it is treated in combination with energy recovery. Consequently, all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that occur during waste treatment are allocated to DH producers even though two simultaneous services are provided - waste treatment and energy recovery. As the focus today is on phasing out fossil fuels from Swedish DH sector, energy recovery from waste turns out to be less desirable than heat production using biofuel and renewable electricity. This article discusses whether the existing allocation method of CO2 emissions contributes to sustainable development and if it does not, to recommend a new method that will. To do this type of assessment, we used the principles from Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. Results showed that the existing allocation method does not consider the problem of waste generation. The method shifts the responsibility from waste producers to DH customers. To prevent this burden shifting, a broader system perspective and an upstream approach should be applied. In addition, the method should be designed in ways that would give incentives to responsible stakeholders to act properly, which requires identifying the reasons why waste is not being recycled and to find a way to apply the allocation. Considering resource efficiency, waste treatment through combustion should always include energy recovery. To encourage energy recovery, the produced heat should not be burdened with CO2 emissions. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A majority of previous studies on environmental problems caused by waste generation have focused on waste disposal issues without fully highlighting the primary reasons behind the problems. As a consequence, efforts to reduce these problems are usually directed towards the stakeholders that provide waste treatment and disposal instead of the stakeholders that contribute to waste generation. In order to detect connections between different problems of sustainability and to suggest measures which may contribute to their solutions, this study provides a simplified overview of the mechanisms behind waste generation and management. The results from the study show that the only way to eliminate problems of sustainability is to apply an upstream approach by dealing with the primary problems which occur in the early stages of the system (e.g. overconsumption of products, as well as use of finite resources, toxic materials, and non-recyclable materials). By dealing with these problems, the emergence of secondary problems would be prevented. Thereby, stakeholders who have the highest possibility to contribute to the sustainable development of the waste generation and management are the stakeholders from the origin of the products life cycles, such as product developers, manufacturing companies, product users and policy makers. Different trade-off situations such as contradictions between economics, recyclability, energy efficiency, make it even harder to deal with issues of sustainability related to the system and to detect the stakeholders who may contribute to the development. One of the main conclusions from this study is that when transforming society towards a circular economy, the traditional view of separate systems for production and waste management must be changed. In order to refer to all problems of sustainability and also cover the top steps of the waste hierarchy, life cycle assessment of waste management should include manufacture and use of products ending up as waste. Waste entering the waste management system with "zero burden", by releasing the previous actors of the waste life cycle from any responsibility related to the environment (i.e. by shifting the total environmental burden into the waste management system), does not capture the problems with waste generation. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Even though the share of renewable energy in the transport sector has increased during the last decade, the sector is still highly dependent on fossil fuels. Consequences are for example emissions of greenhouse gases, particulates, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. This is of great concern for the environment, climate change, and human health. This study reviews scientific publications about sustainable development of the road transport sector, published 2005-2018. The aim of the study is to investigate if there are differences in the measures and strategies presented in the publications depending on the geographical areas studied, and to analyse if there are differences depending on year of publication. The authors analysed to what extent local conditions influence the choice of proposed measures and strategies. A system perspective was applied in order to include measures related to the whole life cycle of the road transport, as well as other sectors, which influence or are influenced by the transport sector. A literature review was performed using the search-engine Web of Science. Results show that important local conditions that may influence the research focus within the area of sustainable development of the road transport sector are for example: energy supply security (e.g. availability of biomass and renewable electricity, as well as access to domestic fossil fuel resources), possibilities for developing infrastructure for biofuel supply and charging of electric vehicles, political priorities and approaches, and traditions.

Denmark has a national political goal of a 100% renewable energy supply in 2050. This requires a comprehensive transition of the energy system. For some decades, district heating in Denmark has been contributing to high fuel efficiency as well as to the integration of the electricity and heating sectors. Large-scale compression heat pumps would improve the integration between the district heating and power sectors by utilising the fluctuations in the supply from wind power, solar photo voltaic and other sources. Previous studies indicate that the introduction of heat pumps in Denmark will have a positive impact on the total costs for energy supply in the transition towards 100% renewable energy. In this paper, this is further investigated to assess the feasibility of heat pumps in the Danish energy system. The assessment is made by applying two different energy system analysis tools, named EnergyPLAN and MODEST. The comparison and discussion of these tools is a secondary purpose of the study. In general, the results show a potential for introducing heat pumps in Denmark between 2 and 4 GW-thermal power and a total potential benefit around 100 M(sic)/year in 2025. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The aim of this study is to analyse the possibilities of converting production and support processes from electricity and fossil fuels to district heating in 83 manufacturing companies in three different Swedish counties. A tool for heat load analysis called Method for Heat Load Analysis (MeHLA) is used to explore how the conversions would affect the heat load duration curves in local district heating systems. Economic effects and impacts on global emissions of greenhouse gases are studied from a system perspective. The study has been conducted considering two different energy market conditions for the year 2030.

The results show that there is a potential for increasing industrial district heating use in all analysed counties. When comparing all three counties, the greatest potential regarding percentage is found in Jönköping, where the district heating use in the manufacturing companies could increase by nine times (from 5 GWh to 45 GWh annually). The industrial district heating use could increase by two times (from 84 GWh to 168 GWh annually) in Östergötland and by four times (from 14 GWh to 58 GWh annually) in Västra Götaland. The conversion of the industrial production processes to district heating would lead to a district heating demand curve which is less dependent on outdoor temperature. As a result, the utilization period of the combined heat and power plants would be prolonged, which would decrease district heating production costs due to the increased income from the electricity production.

In all analysed counties, the energy costs for the companies decrease after the conversions. Furthermore, the increased electricity production in the combined heat and power plants, and the decreased electricity and fossil fuel use in the industrial sector opens up a possibility for a reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. The potential for the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions is highly dependent on the alternative use of biomass and on the type of the marginal electricity producers. When the marginal effects from biomass use are not considered, the greenhouse gas emissions reduction is between 10 thousand tonnes of CO2eq and 58 thousand tonnes of CO2eq per year, depending on the county and the type of marginal electricity production plants. The highest reduction is achieved in Östergötland. However, considering that biomass is a limited resource, the increase of biomass use in the district heating systems may lead to a decrease of biomass use in other energy systems. If this assumption is included in the calculations, the conversion of the industrial processes to district heating still signify a  potential for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but this potential is considerable lower.

This paper evaluates the effects on profitability of biofuel production if biofuel producers would sell the waste heat from the production to a local district heating system. All analyses have been performed considering four different technology cases for biofuel production. Two technology cases include ethanol production which is followed by by-production of raw biogas. This biogas can be upgraded and sold as biofuel (the first technology case) or directly used for combined heat and power production (the second technology case). The third and the fourth technology cases are Fischer-Tropsch diesel and dimethyl ether production plants based on biomass gasification. Two different district heating price levels and two different future energy market scenarios were considered. The sensitivity analyses of the discount rate were performed as well.

In the case of energy market conditions, the profitability depends above all on the price ratio between biomass (used as the feedstock for biofuel production) and crude oil (used as the feedstock for fossil diesel and gasoline production). The reason for this is that the gate biofuel prices (the prices on which the biofuel would be sold) were calculated assuming that the final prices at the filling stations are the same as the prices of the replaced fossil fuel. The price ratios between biomass and district heating, and between biomass and electricity, also have an influence on the profitability, since higher district heating and electricity prices lead to higher revenues from the heat/electricity by-produced.

Due to high biofuel (ethanol + biogas) efficiency, the ethanol production plant which produces upgraded biogas has the lowest biofuel production costs. Those costs would be lower than the biofuel gate prices even if the support for transportation fuel produced from renewable energy sources were not included. If the raw biogas that is by-produced would instead be used directly for combined heat and power production, the revenues from the electricity and heat would increase, but at the same time the biofuel efficiency would be lower, which would lead to higher production costs. On the other hand, due to the fact that it has the highest heat efficiency compared to the other technologies, the ethanol production in this plant shows a high sensitivity to the district heating price level, and the economic benefit from introducing such a plant into a district heating system is most obvious. Assuming a low discount rate (6%), the introduction of such a plant into a district heating system would lead to between 28% and 52% (depending on the district heating price level and energy market scenario) lower biofuel production costs. Due to the lower revenues from the heat and electricity co-produced, and higher capital investments compared to the ethanol production plants, Fischer-Tropsch diesel and dimethyl ether productions are shown to be profitable only if high support for transportation fuel produced from renewable energy sources is included.

The results also show that an increase of the discount rate from 6% to 10% does not have a significant influence on the biofuel production costs. Depending on the biofuel production plant, and on the energy market and district heating conditions, when the discount rate increases from 6% to 10%, the biofuel production costs increase within a range from 2.2% to 6.8%.

Biofuel production through polygeneration with heat as one of the by-products implies a possibility for cooperation between transport and district heating sectors by introducing large-scale biofuel production into district heating systems. The cooperation may have effects on both the biofuel production costs and the district heating production costs. This paper is the second part of the study that investigates those effects. The biofuel production costs evaluation, considering heat and electricity as by-products, was performed in the first part of the study. In this second part of the study, an evaluation of how such cooperation would influence the district heating production costs using Stockholm's district heating system as a case study was performed. The plants introduced in the district heating system were chosen depending on the future development of the transport sector. In order to perform sensitivity analyses of different energy market conditions, two energy market scenarios were applied.

Despite the higher revenues from the sale of by-products, due to the capital intense investments required, the introduction of large-scale biofuel production into the district heating system does not guarantee economic benefits. Profitability is highly dependent on the types of biofuel production plants and energy market scenarios. The results show that large-scale biogas and ethanol production may lead to a significant reduction in the district heating production costs in both energy market scenarios, especially if support for transportation fuel produced from renewable energy sources is included. If the total biomass capacity of the biofuel production plants introduced into the district heating system is 900 MW, the district heating production costs would be negative and the whole public transport sector and more than 50% of the private cars in the region could be run on the ethanol and biogas produced. The profitability is shown to be lower if the raw biogas that is by-produced in the biofuel production plants is used for combined and power production instead of being sold as transportation fuel; however, this strategy may still result in profitability if the support for transportation fuel produced from renewable energy sources is included. Investments in Fischer–Tropsch diesel and dimethyl ether production are competitive to the investments in combined and power production only if high support for transportation fuel produced from renewable energy sources is included.

In this study, cooperation between Stockholm's transport and district heating sectors is analysed. The cooperation concerns the integration of biofuel polygeneration production. A MODEST optimisation model framework is used, assuming various energy market and transport sector scenarios for the year 2030. The scenarios with biofuel production and increased biofuel use in the region are compared with reference scenarios where all new plants introduced into the district heating sector are combined heat and power plants, and the share of biofuel used in the transport sector is the same as today. The results show that the cooperation implies an opportunity to reduce fossil fuel consumption in the sectors by between 20% and 65%, depending on energy market conditions and assumed transport sector scenarios. If we consider biomass an unlimited resource, the potential for greenhouse gas emissions reduction is significant. However, considering that biomass is a limited resource, the increase of biomass use in the district heating system may lead to a decrease of biomass use in other energy systems. The potential for reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions is thus highly dependent on the alternative use of biomass. If this alternative is used for co-firing in coal condensing power plants, biomass use in combined heat and power plants would be more desirable than biofuel production through polygeneration. On the other hand, if this alternative is used for traditional biofuel production (without co-production of heat and electricity), the benefits of biofuel production through polygeneration from a greenhouse gas emissions perspective is superior. However, if carbon capture and storage technology is applied on the biofuel polygeneration plants, the introduction of large-scale biofuel production into the district heating system would result in a reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions independent of the assumed alternative use of biomass.

Syftet med denna avhandling är att identifiera åtgärder som bör vidtas i FJV-system (FJVS) för att bidra till en hållbar utveckling av FJV och andra relaterade energisystem som transport, industri- och energisektorn.

Fyra affärsstrategier är analyserade: att leverera överskottsvärme från produktion av biobränsle för transportsektorn, konvertering av industriella processer till FJV, integration av biobränsleproduktion för transportsektorn i FJVS och integration av FJV-driven absorptionskylteknik i FJVS. Att leverera överskottsvärme från produktion av biobränsle till transportsektorn analyserades med fokus på kostnader för fyra olika produktionstekniker. Integration av biobränsleproduktion till transportsektorn och integration av FJV-driven absorptionskylteknik i FJVS analyserades på Stockholms FJVS med optimeringsmodellen MODEST. När konvertering av industriella processer till FJV analyserades, användes FJVS och industriföretag i Västra Götaland, Östergötlands och Jönköpings län som fallstudier. Metoden MeHLA som används för analys av värmebelastning tillämpades för att analysera effekterna på de lokala FJVS.

Resultaten från studierna visar att när biomassa anses vara en obegränsad resurs har FJV en potential att minska den globala konsumtionen av fossila bränslen och de globala utsläppen av växthusgaser som förknippas med transport-, industri- och energisektorn, for samtliga analyserade affärsstrategierna.

FJV producenter kan bidra till en hållbar utveckling av transportsektorn genom användningen av överskottsvärme från produktion av transportbiobränsle. Den analyserade affärsstrategin ger lägre produktionskostnader för transportbiobränsle vilket främjar utvecklingen av produktionsteknik som ännu inte är kommersiell. Dessutom möjliggörs utveckling av lokala försörjningskedjor av transportbiobränsle på grund av den storskaliga produktionen av transportbiobränsle i lokala FJVS. Detta kan sedan underlätta införandet av transportbiobränsle i lokala transporter och även minska användningen av bensin och fossil diesel. Konvertering av industriella processer från fossila bränslen och el till FJV är en affärsstrategi som skulle göra FJV-branschen mindre beroende av fossila bränslen. Att använda spillvärme från industriprocesser ökar den totala energieffektiviteten i de industriella processerna och minskar produktionskostnaderna. Genom att dessutom öka FJV-användningen inom industriella produktionsprocesser och genom att konvertera eldriven kompressionskyla till FJV driven komfortabsorptionskyla, minskar säsongsvariationerna av FJV lasten, vilket leder till ett bättre utnyttjande av produktionsanläggningar för FJV. Om produktionsanläggningarna för baslast i FJVS är kraftvärmeverk, leder dessa två affärsstrategier till en ökad elproduktion i FJVS.

När marginalproducerad el förknippas med höga utsläpp av växthusgaser (t.ex. när det produceras i koleldade kondenskraftverk), resulterar en minskning av den marginella elproduktionen (på grund av konvertering av industriella processer från el till FJV och på grund av konvertering eldriven kompressionskyla till FJV-driven absorptionkyla) i minskade globala emissioner av växthusgas. Om man däremot tittar på införandet av produktion av transportbiobränsle i FJVS är denna affärsstrategi mindre attraktiv ur ett miljöperspektiv. Orsaken till detta är att investering i produktion av transportbiobränsle istället för i kraftvärmeproduktion, leder till minskad elproduktion i FJVS. Den ökade FJV-användningen inom industrin och införandet av produktion av biobränsle för transportsektorn och FJV driven absorptionskylproduktion i FJVS leder till en ökad användning av biomassa i FJVS. När biomassa anses vara en begränsad resurs, är de miljömässiga fördelarna med att tillämpa dessa affärsstrategier relativt låga eller till och med obefintliga.

Ethanol can be produced with little impact on the environment through the use of polygeneration technology. This paper evaluates the potential of integrating a lignocellulosic ethanol plant into a district heating system by case study; the plant has an ethanol capacity of 95 MW with biogas. electricity and heat as by-products. Stockholms district heating system is used as the case study, but the results may be relevant also for other urban areas. The system has been studied using MODEST - an optimisation model framework. The results show that introducing the plant would lead to a significant reduction in the cost of heat production. The income from the biofuels and electricity produced would be about (sic)76 million and (sic)130 million annually, respectively, which is an increase of 70% compared to the income from the electricity produced in the system today. Assuming that the electricity produced will replace marginal electricity on the European electricity market and that the biofuel produced will replace gasoline in the transport sector, the introduction of the polygeneration plant in the district heating system would lead to a reduction of global CO(2) emissions of about 0.7 million tonnes annually.

The purpose of this research study is to examine the potential for reduction of global CO2 emissions (GECO2) by converting from vapour compression chillers to absorption chillers in Stockholm’s district cooling (DC) system and in Stockholm’s industrial sector. The analysis of the cooling production is made through optimizations in MODEST, a model framework developed for analysis of dynamic energy systems. The results show that more than 95% of the cooling demand that is currently met by compression chillers during the months from April to October should be produced by district heat (DH)-driven absorption cooling chillers in order to lower GECO2. As a consequence of this conversion, the utilization time of the combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Stockholm’s district heating (DH) system would be prolonged and at the same time the electricity used for compression cooling production would be reduced. Assuming coal condensing production as the marginal electricity production in the common electricity market and considering both the increase in electricity production and the reduction in electricity used, the potential for the reduction of GECO2 would be about 0.15 million tonnes annually. Rising cooling demand would make the introduction of absorption technology in the system even more interesting. If the comfort cooling demand in the region increases by 30%, electricity production in the system during the summer would be about 70% higher, which would lead to a reduction of GECO2 by 0.2 million tonnes annually compared with GECO2 today.

In this paper, a combination of methods from social science (interviews) and technical science (modelling) have been used to analyse the potential for cooperation in the present and future district heating system in Stockholm. The aim of the paper is to explore barriers and driving forces for energy cooperation in the Stockholm district heating system and to analyse the potential for combined heat and power generation in the system. In the study it was found that with better connectivity in existing systems, the annual system cost would decrease by approximately 10 million €, and with new CHP plants a similar potential exists. There is also a large potential for decreasing the local and global emissions of CO₂ with CHP plants. The results from the interviews showed that the existing cooperation has a long history and is working well today. The advantages are higher supply security and economic benefits, while disadvantages are a need for more administration and control because of a more complex system. That the barriers to cooperation are seldom technical is another conclusion. With the combination of methods, we have gained a better understanding of the actual potential for the development of the system.

Fjärrvärme spelar en viktig roll i strävan mot ett hållbart samhälle. Därför har vi i denna studie studerat Stockholms fjärrvärmenät och de aktörer som påverkar dess utformning. Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka drivkrafter och hinder för att utveckla fjärrvärmenäten i Stockholm. Vidare har syftet varit att studera hur aktörerna samverkar på kommunal och regional nivå för att bibehålla och/ eller vidareutveckla energisamarbeten.

Fjärrvärmenätet har modellerats utifrån sex olika scenarier i optimeringsprogrammet MODEST. Genom scenarierna har vi kunnat testa dagens nät med bättre sammankopplingar, byggande av kraftvärmeverk samt naturgas som bränsle i kraftvärmeverken. Vidare har kvalitativa intervjuer med kommuner, energibolag, intresse- och branschorganisationer samt regionala aktörer genomförts.

Studien visar att Stockholms fjärrvärmenät redan idag är väl sammankopplat vilket innebär att de ekonomiska vinsterna med ytterligare sammankopplingar inte är särskilt stora. Modelleringarna pekar dock på att byggande av kraftvärme, både med biobränsle och med naturgas, har en viss ekonomisk potential. En positiv effekt är också minskningen av de globala utsläppen av växthusgaser. Vinster med samarbeten och sammankopplingar från energibolagens sida är framförallt ökad driftsäkerhet och driftsoptimering samt möjligheten att samordna revisioner. För att samarbeten ska fungera är dock ekonomisk vinst för samtliga parter samt jämlika förhållanden dem emellan en förutsättning. Det är inte tekniska problem som hindrar utökade sammankopplingar, snarare är det ökat behov av planering och administration som försvårar utökat samarbete mellan bolag.

Genom resultatet från intervjuerna kan slutsatsen dras att ett glapp finns i synen på samverkan mellan bolag och kommuner. Detta oavsett om bolagen är kommunalt eller privat ägda. Att energibolagen ska drivas på bolagsmässiga grunder kan vara en förklaring till detta. Energiplanering från kommunernas perspektiv har kommit att handla om klimatfrågan i hög utsträckning och ses ofta som synonymt med miljöarbete. Energiplaneringen har därmed fått högre status och flyttats närmre kommunledning. Samtidigt sker energiplanering på många olika nivåer, inom och mellan kommunerna samt på regional nivå, vilket gör det svårt att få ett samlat grepp om frågan. Också bolagen har olika syn på det regionala perspektivet vilket pekar på att det saknas ett fungerande regionalt organ där bolag och kommuner kan samverka.

Även om både energibolagen och kommunerna är positivt inställda till fjärrvärme som teknik ser framtiden för fjärrvärmebranschen något osäker ut. Minskade värmelaster på grund av energieffektiviseringar och klimatförändringar bidrar till osäkerheten. Samtidigt väntar en utredning om tredjepartstillträde som potentiellt kan innebära stora förändringar för branschen. Genom att alla bygger kraftvärme kan det vara ett sätt att ändra marknadsinriktning från värme till el för att ge ökad lönsamhet. Det går inte heller att bortse från att Stockholmsregionen har goda förutsättningar för att införa ett tredjepartstillträde där kunderna själva kan välja fjärrvärmeleverantör.