Public companies and institutes towards circular economy
1. The public energy company Energetika Ljubljana simultaneously produces heat and electricity from one unit of fuel. Heat created in the production of electricity is highly efficiently used to heat the water in the district heating system.
2. Using gas created during biological waste processing RCERO Ljubljana produces 17,000 MWh of electric energy and 36,000 MWh of heat. Biogas is created in anaerobic fermentation of biodegradable waste, and the electricity and heat produced suffice for the operation of the whole regional centre.
3. The public sport institute Šport Ljubljana modernised the cooling system in the Tivoli Ice Hall and installed a new cooling system in the Zalog Ice Hall, so that the waste heat from the cooling systems can be diverted through a heat pump, heat accumulator and distribution pumps and be used in full for:
• heating domestic water,
• heating water for the ice resurfacer,
• appropriate drying and heating of the hall,
• heating of the changing rooms and offices.
Until now the district heating system was used for all of the above, while waste heat from the cooling system was diverted and lost in the surroundings. In the Zalog hall the energy for making ice was supplied incurring quite significant costs. All procedures, that is, the functioning of the equipment and the systems is computer operated which means optimal operation and optimal water, electricity and gas savings.
4. By installing a heat exchanger in the system of two cremation furnaces the public company Žale cut the temperature of chimney gases by approximately half and redirected excess heat from the furnaces from the air into the central heating system on its premises. And so the company is not just contributing to the reduction of climate warming but also to energy efficiency.
5. At its landfill Barje the public waste management company Snaga is capturing waste gas, which is released during waste decomposition, in reservoirs. It is mostly comprised of methane and carbon dioxide. The biogas is diverted into a gas powered plant and used for electric energy production.