The four cities - Chicago, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid - seeking to host the Olympic Games in 2016 can reduce their CO2 emissions by as much as 40 per cent with district heating and district cooling systems.
"Technology is no hindrance – the solutions for district heating and district cooling are already developed and efficient. But this type of technology requires planning, long-term investment and, therefore, political focus and will. When it comes to hosting the Olympic Games, cities make major infrastructure investments that involve many organisations, so considering district heating and district cooling is a natural component," says COWI Head of Department Jens Ole Hansen.
Sustainability is already a key criterion of the International Olympic Committee's evaluation of the four cities competing to become the 2016 host city.
Optimisation instead of innovation
"Currently there is major interest in anything that's green and climate-friendly. But people tend to overlook the great potential of putting the energy to a better use and minimising waste. It is of course thrilling to focus on the technology of the future, but we would advise the next host city of the Olympic Games to focus on long-term planning and the best use of existing solutions. This is the most reliable way to do the climate a favour," says Jens Ole Hansen.
Denmark is one of the world's most energy-efficient countries
Denmark is one of the world's leading countries when it comes to combining the heat and power supply in urban areas. Heating plans are an integral part of town planning, with 60 per cent of all Danish households linked to the district heating network.
The focus on combined heat and power plants means that Denmark is now one of the most energy-efficient countries in the world and has managed to keep its energy consumption at the same level since 1980, while GNP has increased by nearly 80 per cent in the same period.
District heating network is key
In Europe, about one third of all energy production is squandered, because waste heat from the production of electricity is not utilised.
"Denmark has found that a well-developed district heating network is a key component to optimal utilisation of energy. Countries with warmer weather have similar experiences with district cooling networks," says Jens Ole Hansen.
World leaders in district heating and cooling technology
Four world-leading Danish companies within district heating technology, Grundfos, Danfoss, Logstor and COWI, have joined forces to spread the word about the major energy-saving potential of district heating and district cooling.
About the four companies
COWI is a leading international consulting company. We provide state of the art consultancy within all fields of climate change.
COWI has been working within district heating and cooling for more than 30 years. Today we offer leading experts within energy planning, hydraulic simulations and energy production for heating and cooling systems.
COWI offers the full service line within district heating and cooling:
• Business opportunity studies
• Feasibility studies
• Master planning
• Concept and detailed design
• Hydraulic simulation
• Procurement
• O&M
Contact and additional information:
Head of Department, Energy, Jens Ole Hansen, +45 4597 1177, jha@cowi.dk
Danfoss's main expertise is within energy efficiency, and Danfoss products save energy in buildings, industrial processes and food storage applications all over the world.
Danfoss District Heating is one of the few companies that offers a comprehensive range of substations, heat exchangers and automatic controls for district heating plants, large distributor stations, commercial substations and one-family house substations.
Contact and additional information:
Director of PR & Strategic Issues, Nikolaj Stig Nielsen, +45 2374 1071, nsn@danfoss.com
Grundfos is one of the world's leading pump manufacturers with an annual production of more than 16 million pump units. Circulator pumps for heating and air-conditioning and other centrifugal pumps for industry, water supply, wastewater and dosing are the major products.
In addition to pumps, Grundfos manufactures both norm and submersible motors for the pumps, and motors are also sold as separate merchandising. Grundfos also develops and sells state-of-the-art electronics for monitoring, controls for pumps and other systems, and the products of BioBooster and NoNox which are part of the company's new business activities.
The Grundfos Group is represented by 80 companies in 45 countries. In addition, Grundfos products are merchandised by distributors in a large number of countries.
Contact and additional information:
Corporate PR Manager, Dan Prangsgaard, +45 30 33 75 02, dprangsgaard@grundfos.com
LOGSTOR is the world's leading manufacturer of pre-insulated pipes for energy efficient transportation of gases and liquids for district heating and cooling, oil and gas, solar, marine and industrial purposes. LOGSTOR invented the pre-insulated pipe system technology and has delivered more than 160,000 km pre-insulated pipes to date. LOGSTOR provides products which contribute considerably to reductions in CO2 emissions and improved energy efficiency.
Today LOGSTOR is an international group with subsidiaries in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, China, Romania and Lithuania.
LOGSTOR is owned by Montagu Private Equity.
Contact and additional information:
Kurt Weis, Vice President Corporate Communications, LOGSTOR, +45 9966 1008, kuw@logstor.com