Economic feasibility of commercial heat-to-power technologies suitable for use in district heating networks

Recent improvements in heat-to-power (HtP) technologies have led to an increase in efficiency at lower temperatures and lower cost. HtP is used extensively in power generation via the steam Rankine cycle, but so far has not been used in district heating (DH). The aim of the study is to analyze the economic feasibility of using HtP technologies in a DH network. This is achieved by establishing suitable technologies and calculating the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) under conditions that may be found in DH. The result, for the vendors, temperatures and assumptions considered, is a range of 25–292 €/MWh, excluding the cost of heat. The breadth of this range in part reflects the importance of selecting appropriate products to match the heat source temperature.