Identification of Excess Heat Utilisation Potential using GIS: Analysis of Case Studies for Denmark

Excess heat is present in many sectors, such as the industry and utility. The utilization of these heat sources could reduce the primary energy consumption and thus reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This work presents the results of a geographical mapping of excess heat, in which excess heat from the industry and utility sector is distributed to specific geographical locations in Denmark.

Based on this mapping, a systematic approach for identifying cases for the utilization of excess heat is proposed, considering district heating, process heat and power generation. The technical and economic feasibility of using this approach is evaluated for four scenarios. Special focus is placed on the challenges for the connection of excess heat sources to heat consumers, as well as tax schemes applicable in Denmark.

To account for uncertainties in the model input, Monte Carlo simulations and Morris Screenings are performed to determine the standard deviation of the results and to determine the most important model parameters. The presented method shows how the geographical mapping of excess heat sources can be used to identify its utilization potentials.

In combination with the economic model, a fast evaluation and comparison of the feasibility of different matches can be performed. The evaluation of the identified case studies shows that it is economically feasible to connect the heat source to the public energy network or use the heat to generate electricity.

However, the uncertainty analysis suggests that the results can only be indicative and are useful for a fast evaluation and comparison of different matches.