Policy Incentives for Flexible District Heating in the Baltic Countries

Utilities Policy 2018
Daniel Møller Sneum, Eli Sandberg, Hardi Koduvere, Ole Jess Olsen, Dagnija Blumberga

This study analyzes the impacts of taxes, subsidies, and electricity transmission and distribution tariffs and heat storage on the operation and economic feasibility of district heating plants with different flexibility potentials in the Baltic countries. Under 2016 conditions, the lowest levelized cost of heat is achieved by a combination of wood chip boilers, electric boilers, and heat storage. Heat storage enables a higher utilization of least-cost technologies, resulting in greater cost efficiency for all considered scenarios. Current taxes and subsidies are found to have limited impact on the operation of combined heat and power plants and electric boilers.

Keywords
District heating; Energy policy; Flexibility
DOI
10.1016/j.jup.2018.02.001
Hyperlink
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095717871730156X?via%3Dihub

Møller Sneum, D., Sandberg, E., Koduvere, H., Olsen, O., Blumberga, D. Policy Incentives for Flexible District Heating in the Baltic Countries. Utilities Policy, 2018, Vol.51, pp.61-72. ISSN 0957-1787. Available from: doi:10.1016/j.jup.2018.02.001

Publication language
English (en)