The district heating network supplies heat to 250,000 end users in homes and offices.
The development work that began in 2016 was accelerated last autumn when a new intermediate goal was set to discontinue the use of coal in 2025. The accelerated carbon-neutrality project is called Espoo Clean Heat.
On
'Making district heating carbon neutral is Espoo's most significant climate action, and it will help us to achieve our goal to be a carbon-neutral city by 2030. For Espoo, it's important to be a frontrunner also in energy issues, and we value the good collaboration with
'A transition to clean energy is necessary to curb climate change, and we at
Waste heat utilisation, geothermal energy, and smart solutions
The production of carbon-neutral district heating in Espoo made advancements during the last decade by using waste heat from wastewater, for example. Last year about one quarter of the production was already carbon-neutral, and this year the share will increase to 40% when the Kivenlahti bioheating facility and the Otaniemi geothermal plant are commissioned and when one of the two coal-fired units is decommissioned at the Suomenoja power plant. According to the plan, decommissioning the last coal-fired unit will raise the share of carbon-neutral district heating production to 85% in 2025. The focus in finding alternative solutions is primarily on combustion-free solutions.
'At best, a data centre player could operate in a carbon-negative way if the electricity it uses is carbon neutral and the waste heat it provides were to replace fossil-based district heat production. For data centre operators, ecological operations are key,' says
In addition to the fast emissions reduction in production,
'All the Espoo Asunnot apartments are already connected to the system, and discussions are under way to get schools, daycare facilities and other city's real estate connected to the system,' says
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