The Role of the Latvian District Heating System in the Development of Sustainable Energy Supply

The aim of the study is to determine whether and to what extent it is possible to use excess electricity produced by wind power plants during low demand periods for district heat production by heat pumps. Energy system analysis on an hourly basis is conducted at various capacities of wind power plants. The results show that it is possible to increase the share of renewable energy sources, decrease the use of primary energy sources and CO2 emissions per unit of the produced energy, i.e. heat and electricity, by using the surplus electricity produced by wind power in the heat pumps combined with the heat storage.