This report examines the issues of implementing Pit Thermal Energy Storage (PTES) which actors of the Greater Copenhagen district heating (DH) system currently face. The issue is characterized by a catch-22 situation: In order to invest in the technology, actors need to know which benefits they will get. However, before the investment is made and the technology implemented, the actors cannot know exactly which benefits it will entail.
This report takes an interdisciplinary approach to the issue at hand, and combines inquiry into the actors’ valuations of the PTES with techno-economic energy system modelling. By analysing which valuations are deployed by the actors, knowledge about which potential benefits actors will prefer is gained. By combining this with a calculative demonstration of the potential benefits through energy system modelling, the PTES’ effects are made visible to the actors.
Several valuation framings are identified among the actors. While some suggestions overlap, others diverge, suggesting a situation of uncertainty concerning the properties of the PTES. As the energy system model is able to support some framings while rejecting others, the demonstration can decrease the uncertainty around the benefits from the PTES. These benefits include increased CHP production, lowered natural gas boiler production and decreased heat expenses for transmission companies.
Based on these two analyses, a business model is proposed, describing possible ways of sharing the investment between the actors who stand to gain benefits.