P8
The City Council does not have a direct influence in the district heating and cooling business, neither in the company’s ownership nor in its operation. However, it takes into account air quality in different parts of the city, energy efficiency improvement and district heating needs when organizing its urban planning (e.g. trying to densify the city and defining district heating zones in energy dense areas close to the existing network). INVESTMENTS FOR A SUSTAINABLE TARTU Fortum Tartu has made several investments for Tartu’s energy system to be sustainable and green:
In the areas defined as district heating zones, all new buildings and those undergoing a major renovation must be connected to the network. These areas are readjusted when the master plan is updated. The current district heating areas were defined in 2017, following a negotiation process between Fortum Tartu and the city. Around 70% of Fortum Tartu's clients are established in a DH zone. Houses can choose alternative heating solution in appointed DH zones when they meet the conditions having an energy demand below 40 kWh/m2 or being supplied with environmentally cleaner heating, e.g geothermal heating or solar thermal panels.
• In 2006, the company started its own local fuel production (for biomass sourcing peat production), to have secure market based fuel supply in changing market situations. In 2007, Fortum Tartu began the development of a new combined heat and power plant fueled by biomass (75%) and peat (25%). The plant with a heat capacity of 50 MW and electricity capacity of 25 MW was commissioned in 2009. • Between 2009 and 2014, the system continued expanding, mainly through the acquisition of another local district heating system in 2013 in the “Tamme” area (90 GWh of sales, 3 production units, 34 km pipeline) and the installation of new peak capacity. • With the restructuring of the whole district heating system, in 2013 an old fossil fuel based boiler house in city center was closed. • In 2014, the development of district cooling projects started and the first district cooling plant, based on free cooling from the river Emajõgi, was commissioned in May 2016, becoming the first district cooling system in the Baltics and Eastern-Europe. • In 2016, after long negotiations and discussions with customer Lõunakeskus (Southern Estonia’s biggest shopping mall/entertainment center), the next district cooling project started. Fortum Tartu offered the customer a ful l solution of district heating and cooling. Lõunakeskus was connected to the district heating network in October 2016. The district cooling system for Lõunakeskus started its operations in the beginning of June 2017. • Automatic smart meter readers are installed to 75% of the customers, and the plan is to cover 100% of customers with smart metering by 2020.
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