AN APPROPRIATE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FOR URBAN AREAS*


 W. R. Mixon
 Energy Division
 Oak Ridge National Laboratory**
 Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830




 ABSTRACT



 This paper addresses some of the unique characteristics of high
density urban areas as they affect the potential use of energy conserva-
tion measures and more efficient and renewable energy sources. Energy-
related problems of urban areas are presented and the inner city is
characterized as an environment with limited potential for applying
conservation measures and innovative energy sources at the level of
individual buildings. District heating and cooling is presented as one
technology, uniquely appropriate for urban areas, that can collect
thermal energy from efficient cogeneration plants, municipal incinerators,
industrial processes, and renewable natural energy resources and distrib-
ute that energy throughout a community to its ultimate consumers.
Through district heating, the urban communities can conserve energy and
scarce fuels, improve environmental quality and participate in achieving
a more harmonious interface between humanity and the natural environment.




*To be presented at a workshop on Status of Research and Methods of
Evaluation of Appropriate Technology of Environmental Interaction that
is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Workshop
to be held May 14-16, 1981 at Center for Wetlands, University of Florida,
Gainesville, Florida.

**Operated by Union Carbide Corporation under contract W-7405-eng-26
with the U.S. Department of Energy.




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