Metamorphoses of cogeneration-based district heating in Romania: A case study

The paper presents the birth and evolution of the cogeneration-based district heating (DH) system in a medium size city in Romania (Targoviste). The evolution of the industrialization degree was the main factor which controlled the population growth and led to a continuous reconfiguration of the DH system. The DH system assisted by cogeneration emerged as a solution in a certain phase of the demographic development of the city. The political and social changes occurring in Romania after 1990 have had important negative consequences on the DH systems in small towns. In Targoviste the DH system survived but in 2001 the solution based on cogeneration became economically inefficient, due to the low technical quality of the existing equipment and the low gas prices, to the procedure of setting the DH tariffs and the service cost at consumer's level and to some bureaucratic problems. Energy policy measures taken at national and local levels in 2003 and 2005 led to the re-establishment of the cogeneration-based district heating in 2005. However, a different technical solution has been adopted. Details about the present (2009) cogeneration-based DH system in Targoviste are presented together with several technical and economical indicators. The main conclusion is that by a proper amendment of the technical solutions, cogeneration could be a viable solution for DH even in case of abrupt social and demographic changes, such as those occurring in Romania after 1990. - Research Highlights: →Birth and evolution of the cogeneration-based district heating system in a medium size city. →The industrialization degree is the main factor which controlled the reconfiguration of the district heating system. →Each stage of the evolution of district heating system has been a technological leap. →Cogeneration is a solution for district heating even in case of abrupt social changes.