Assessment of environmental safety and energy security for the development options of heat supply to a settlement in the Arctic

Abstract

The article presents the results of comparing the environmental performance of district and individual heating options on the example of a settlement located in the Arctic territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The thermal energy source for the district option is a coal-fired boiler house; the one for the individual option is automated pellet boilers. The boiler house receives coal according to a complex multi-link scheme, whereas pellets are produced on site. The district heating option involves laying heat networks throughout the village because currently it has none. The individual heating option suggests the construction of a pellet production plant. Environmental indicators are calculated emissions of pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion. Pollutants include solids, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. Along with environmental indicators, the authors consider the conditions for ensuring energy security in various heating options. The research findings show the advantage of the individual heating option based on automated pellet boilers for environmental indicators. The risks for this option are assessed from the standpoint of threats to the energy security of the settlement in comparison with the district heating option. The factors considered as threats include those affecting the reliability and survivability of process technologies, an increase in the thermal energy cost, and the availability of fuel and energy resources. The main limitation for the option of individual heating in the Arctic territories, which is based on locally produced wood pellets, is the lack of reasonable reserves of available wood in wood-cutting areas near the settlement.