28-08-2014

District cooling needs greater visibility in order to achieve its potential

The second workshop of the RESCUE (Renewable Smart Cooling for Urban Europe) Consortium took place in Bath and North Somerset (UK) in July. Technical experts met with local government representatives from across the UK to discuss the potential benefits of district cooling as an alternative to traditional cooling methods. Participants also took time to consider the various aspects of funding, planning and implementing such a system. It was seen as up to the local governments to instigate discussion, to act as convener, and to guide developers.

The workshop highlighted the need for local authorities to be made more aware of the potential benefits of district cooling. Assistance is also needed to build capacity of local government representatives in assessing the feasibility of and taking the first steps towards installing district cooling. Implementation of the new European Energy Efficiency Directive, with its requirements for local heat and cold mapping, is predicted to assist greatly in the early stages of the assessment.

RESCUE will host a free Final Conference on district cooling at the Local Renewables Conference, which is taking place from 22-24 October 2014 in Freiburg and Lörrach (Germany). This is an opportunity for participants who might not be familiar with such systems to gain strategic insight and practical advice on the opportunities and potential offered by such systems.

For more information, please see the workshop programme