District Heating and Cooling

District Energy is a sustainable, cost effective solution for providing heating and cooling

Most people in Australia and New Zealand live in urban areas, and urban population is predicted to keep rising. Housing, infrastructure and services must continue to meet this increased demand, and look for smarter ways to do it.

Part of ENGIE’s strategy in leading the energy transition is to decentralise energy production wherever possible. District Energy is part of the solution, and is widely recognised as a sustainable, cost-effective heating and cooling solution through the provision of hot water/steam to heat buildings and chilled water to cool buildings.

With over 380 District Energy schemes in 13 countries developed and operated over 30 years, ENGIE has the local and global expertise to provide a comprehensive service for District Energy, encompassing:

Initial feasibility/financial viability studies
Provision of finance for projects
System design
Installation and commissioning
Project management
On-going operation and maintenance
Contract energy management

We are currently developing large District Energy Schemes in Australia (in Queensland, for cooling) and have developed a project in New Zealand (in Christchurch, for heating and cooling), and there are many examples of our work around the world in the video below.

Heating Networks

A heating network generates and distributes heat in the form of hot water and superheated steam using one or more generating units. They generally use a range of different primary energy sources for heat generation, including natural gas, locally-generated energy and renewables in the form of household waste incineration, biomass (wood, etc.), biogas, solar, geothermal and heat recovered from wastewater. A heating network has four main component parts:

one or more heat generating units
a primary pipeline network that transfers the heat to the delivery points
heat exchanger substations installed in connected buildings
a secondary pipeline network that distributes the heat in the form of hot water from the delivery points (substation) to the radiant sources in individual homes or offices

Cooling Networks

A cooling network is a centralised system that provides chilled water to supply an air conditioning system. In practice, it includes chilled water production and distribution facilities to provide cooling services to all connected buildings. Operating as a closed circuit, the cooling network always includes two pipelines: one supplying chilled water to users, and the other returning the water to the production plants. The presence of a water source close to the network can make it possible to dispense with the need for a cooling tower at the production plant. Compared with a traditional air conditioning system, this network typically:

consumes 35 % less electricity
emits 50 % less CO₂
greater than 50 % energy efficiency
65 % less water consumption

Hazelwood Power Station chimneys successfully demolished – a milestone for the Rehabilitation Project

General News, Hazelwood
May 25, 2020

The Latrobe Valley skyline was forever changed today with the successful demolition of the Hazelwood Power Station’s eight iconic 137m tall chimneys.

ENGIE partners with Indigenous supply company, Muru

General News
May 21, 2020

ENGIE Australia & New Zealand is proud to announce a major partnership with Muru Office Supplies (MOS).

Hawkesbury’s renewable energy agreement to deliver lower costs, less emissions

ENGIE Solutions, General News
May 14, 2020

Hawkesbury City Council has taken a major step towards its goal of achieving net-zero emissions, with the signing of a long-term energy contract with ENGIE.