Citizens across Europe are concerned about their heating bills as a result of the energy price crisis, but sustainable heating and cooling do not yet receive much attention in the EU’s agenda
Heating is becoming an increasingly pivotal issue in the energy transition, especially as we enter a winter where many of us are thinking twice about when to put the heating on in our homes. However, sustainable heating solutions seem absent in the EU’s response to the energy crisis.
District heating & cooling (DHC) networks are one of the most efficient solutions to lower emissions from our buildings. But its decarbonisation potential is still untapped, as most of the heat in these networks is still produced with fossil fuels. In this episode, we look into the policy incentives needed to decarbonise our heating systems and how the EU can make the most of the potential of DHC.
This week’s guest is Aurélie Beauvais, Managing Director at Brussels-based association Euroheat & Power. She previously held the position of Deputy CEO and Policy Director of SolarPower Europe from 2017 to 2021. She also headed the European Affairs department of the French Union of Electricity from 2012 to 2017.
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Aurélie Beauvais
Michaela Holl
Jan Rosenow
David Weston
Anna Gumbau
@WattMattersPod
FORESIGHT Climate & Energy
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Illustration: Masha Krasnova-Shabaeva. Art director: Trine Natskår.
Show notes:
Comment | Why solar farms can benefit wildlife – Keele University
Biodiversity measures to fast-track renewables deployment – FORESIGHT
Michael Liebrich on Twitter
Commission work programme
Scotland generates record amount of renewable electricity – BBC News
A 10-Point Plan to accelerate the EU heat transition
Decarbonisation of heating requires switching from systems and appliances that combust fossil fuels to those that rely on renewable energy. Nowhere is the switch more challenging to achieve for existing building stock than in the UK. If it can be done there, it can be done anywhere
Cities are taking the lead on the decarbonisation of district heating and cooling networks, with the use of heat pumps on the rise
In episode 7, the team are joined by Alix Chambris and Brian Vad Mathiesen to discuss the potential pathways to decarbonise heating in Europe
Denmark has led the way on decarbonisation of heating, with a rapid transition away from fossil fuels aided by its large scale adoption of heating networks over the past 40 years. Instead of exchanging individual heating appliances in every home and commercial building, the Danes are centrally converting their heat networks to renewable energy, saving citizens a pile of money in the process
Cities are feeling the heat more than outlying areas. The increased use of vegetation, reflective surfaces, building codes promoting ambitious energy efficiency standards and district cooling are being employed to provide heat relief and facilitate sustainable cooling for urban dwellers
By using the wrong metrics, the European Union is locking in inefficient ways of space heating. Changing the definitions of renewable heat may help support low-carbon alternative technologies, says Duncan Gibb from the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)
Research by Siemens shows the way forward to make district heating in Denmark run on clean energy sources
This week, DNV’s CEO of Energy Systems Ditlev Engel joins Watt Matters to talk about energy systems thinking and why a holistic approach is needed to make the energy transition happen
Work to increase the energy performance of Europe’s building stock remains sluggish, despite long standing political commitments and the launch of the EU’s Renovation Wave initiative in late 2020. Thomas Boermans, from German energy supply company E.ON, believes considering building renovation as an infrastructure project could help accelerate the movement
The bigger the pool of energy demand, the less the ripples in supply from renewable energy are felt. Special report part 2/3
Research from Heat Roadmap Europe and others shows the path ahead to bring the heating and cooling sector in line with the commitments of the Paris climate agreement
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