Potential sources of waste heat for heat networks in Scotland

Abstract

Scotland has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Heat is at the core of Scotland’s energy system, accounting for approximately 50% of the energy consumed by homes and businesses, making it the biggest element of Scotland’s energy use and its largest source of emissions. The Scottish Government (in line with advice from the Committee on Climate Change) has identified heat networks as one of the ‘low-regret’ options – low cost and with relatively large benefits - for heat decarbonisation. Its Climate Change Plan 2018 (CCP) focuses on significant reductions in emissions from buildings, both residential and non-domestic.

This study supports emerging regional and national policies associated with the development and deployment of low-carbon heat networks by examining a variety of potential waste heat sources that have received limited attention in Scotland. Heat networks, or district heating, involves providing heat to homes and businesses via insulated pipes in the form of hot water or steam.

The study assesses the waste heat potential of 10 different sectors (distilleries, breweries, bakeries, paper and pulp, laundry, supermarkets, data centres, electricity substations, waste-water treatment plants (WWTP), and landfill) using a variety of data sources and calculation steps (which included excluding significantly small sites, applying assumptions on site activities and energy consumption, etc.).