Across various energy regions in the Netherlands, work is underway to develop sustainable collective heat supply systems. The focus is on establishing new heat companies, connecting homes and businesses, and deploying sustainable heat sources to meet baseload demand.
The final step towards a fully sustainable system is to decarbonise the peak-load and back-up heat supply as well.
Commissioned by the Holland Rijnland and Rotterdam–The Hague RES regions, this study explores what a sustainable peak-load and back-up provision for district heating networks could look like and what this would mean for local authorities and heat companies. To this end, we modelled a range of heat generation and thermal storage technologies for case studies in Voorschoten and Leiden South-West, the RoCa area, and Oostland.