Large potential for renewable energy Due to Mongolia’s rich geological heritage, the country has enormous potential for RE generation. Currently, the energy system has only 4.2% renewable penetration, but the potential to expand is significant: • The wind resource has been estimated at up to 1.1 TWe with an electricity output of 2,550 TWh/year. • The solar potential has been estimated at 4,774 TWh/year based on 270-300 sunny days a year, with an average sunlight duration of 2,250-3,300 hours available in most territories. Mongolia’s annual average solar energy is 1,400 kWh/m2 per year, with a solar intensity of 4.3-4.7 kWh/m2/day. • The significant geothermal potential is characterized by hot springs in several parts of the country. Still, limited data are available in underground temperature maps and site measurements. • Hydropower potential has been estimated to be 1.2-3.8 TWe. • Regarding heating, there could be potential for biomass from forests in northern Mongolia and excess heat from industry.
high compared to similar cities, with heat losses around 6-9%. This results in factors such as high heating demands, which require high supply temperatures due to poor insulation of buildings and DH pipes. In recent years, many of the pipes in the Ulaanbaatar DH system have been replaced, but still, around 25% are from before the year 2000. The temperature level of the system is also relatively high, with a supply temperature of around 130°C, due to high- temperature requirements in individual buildings. Ulaanbaatar’s Green City Action Plan acknowledges the lack of financial resources slowing renovation activity, especially in Ger (see Text box) areas. In terms of energy, it considers that RE promotion is on track. Still, energy efficiency in buildings in the Ulaanbaatar DH heating area is challenging, especially in retrofitting pre-cast concrete panel apartments. Furthermore, there is a need for long-term investment planning strategies to increase energy efficiency in buildings and the Ulaanbaatar DH network.
Figure 3: The resulting annual CO2 emissions in the assessed cases.
Figure 4: The resulting annual emissions of pollutants from the assessed cases.
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