Transition pathway for the city toward low-emission district heating system with heat auctions promoting third-party network access

Here a plausible transition management model to accelerate the decarbonization of urban district heating systems is presented. Many cities and energy utilities have struggled in identifying sustainable, socially acceptable, and cost-efficient solutions to replace fossil fuels and unsustainable biofuels.

A model was developed based on a case study made for the City of Helsinki in Finland to phase out coal and to reach carbon neutrality without additional bioenergy capacity by 2035. Methods included energy system modelling, environmental and economic assessment, and transition pathway co-creation.

The main technical solutions included heat pump systems, demand response, energy storage, and strengthening electricity distribution networks. Achieving cost-efficient and socially acceptable local energy transition requires decentralizing heating solutions. The city can accelerate investments and promote third-party network access through heat auctions, open energy map data, and fast-track permits.

Urban transitions need to be iteratively managed based on energy system modelling to secure sufficient heat supply, cost-efficiency and rapid decarbonization simultaneously. Adoption of a new operational, business and market models is challenging but necessary. More research and development are needed on heat auctions and local energy transition management models, which enable coordinated investments by multiple actors to reach zero-emission district heating systems.