Event details
Paragraphs
Key take-aways
- Sector coupling is a key factor for the development of sustainable districts.
- For a successful energy transition, we need to think big: integrated solutions are essential for sustainable districts.
- A crucial task for the upcoming years is to implement local heat network plans in municipalities.
The EnBW Sustainable Districts project focuses on planning and implementing technical infrastructure for renewable energy and sector coupling and covers three main areas: energy supply, mobility, and services.
Ms Frei highlighted that a successful energy transition needs broad ang big thinking, therefore sector-coupling and integrated solutions are vital for sustainable districts. She explained the process with an example: To use river thermal energy, river water is directed into a heat pump, which is operated with electricity from PV-systems.
Apart from applications such as load management, which is already implemented in the sustainable districts, there is still potential for optimization. Energy optimization is possible especially for internal variable factors such as user behaviour and external factors such as adaptation to weather, grid voltage and current electricity markets.
Digitalization and AI can be a supporting factor for optimizing the sustainable districts further, as Mr Hüttl explained in detail: Data from measurement points is transferred via a fiber optic network and integrated in a cloud operating platform, which enables monitoring and predictive maintenance. In the future, AI might be used for determining the most efficient operating mode.
