SpatialEnergyPlan - Spatial Energy Planning for Heat Transition

Spatial energy planning (SEP) has the potential to become a game changer in steering the decarbonisation of the heat sector in Europe. It will be an important lever to bring innovative and sustainable heat technologies and market models of the energy model region GREEN ENERGY LAB forward. The upheaval of the energy market needs information and coordination to make use of all renewable energy forms and available resources in the best possible way. Market imperfections need to be resolved, investment security has to be guaranteed and new business models (especially for grid based heat supply) have to be enabled. The application of SEP in instruments of public steering (regulation and governance) can make a major contribution to the necessary support, concertation and cost efficiency (of investments and funding) in the ongoing heat sector transition. More and more, innovative public authorities are ready to take their role. In this project three provinces (Vienna, Styria, Salzburg), their capital cities and demo communities of all sizes as well as the major research institutions in Austria with competence in this area together, to develop and provide all fundamentals necessary for a roll out of spatial heat planning and to become a role model for Austria and other European countries. Digitalisation allows to provide all the necessary foundations for SEP. The basis of SEP is a distinguished HEATatlas, which shows complex urban and energy relations, e.g. renewable energy resources and changing heat/cooling densities, with high spatial resolution necessary for long-term energy planning. The necessary fundament of the HEATatlas is reliable, updated data in high granularity. With the public administration partners the project will provide the best available data possible. Research institutions all over Europe have started to develop sophisticated concepts and models for the display of heat densities. The project will bring them together to create a synthesis, which is directly usable for the purposes of SEP in public administrations. Furthermore, the project will substantially advance development and discussion of different energy zoning approaches, which are necessary for the use in public regulation and administrative processes and demonstrate applicability to the administrative practice. Last but not least, a HEATapp prototype will be coded, which allows automated queries and profound analysis and which prepares implementation of SEP in three concrete use cases: Area Development, Regional Planning and Energy Strategies and Monitoring. A coding compatible with Open Government Data and basemap.at ensures the operability in all GIS-infrastructures in the participating regions and beyond. The developed concepts concerning data modelling, data analysis, content and visualisation is intended to become a national standard and lead the development of spatial energy planning in Europe. Innovation is also in the process - This lever for innovative heat technologies and heat transition will be realized with a unique constellation of partners, manifest practice orientation and an outstanding chance for replication.