6.3 Barriers and opportunities to AE system development:insights from WaterWarmth pilots

The main research question that guides the analysis for this Work Package 6 Deliverable 6.3 report is: What are the barriers and opportunities that govern niche development and scaling of aqua thermal energy (AE)systems? In answering this research question, we map and analyze the enabling policy and opportunitiesthat support AE system niche development, as well as policy that can also play a role in up-scaling and outscalingof AE systems and practices through demonstration pilots. The report also identifies barriers that(could potentially) hinder AE system niche development. The focus of the report is on the AE pilots of theInterreg North Sea WaterWarmth Project and is therefore primarily based on interviews and pilot textdocuments. We compiled a set of key questions that were designed to explore issues related to governanceand implementation of renewable energy systems. For this report we particularly explored issues about thetensions and challenges faced by the pilots as well as enabling factors that lead to successes in theimplementation and scaling of their projects. We studied nine pilot projects using an exploratory multi-casestudy approach. The first questions for mapping the AE projects were asked to the pilots in an on-line onlinesurvey April 2024. A workshop was then held in Caen May 2024 and in the next step semi-structuredinterviews were carried out with key respondents involved in the nine pilots during the Fall of 2024. Theresults are first analyzed case-by-case, and then a multi-case synthesis is presented followed by conclusionsand policy recommendations.Results show that all the nine pilot projects have experienced several barriers that hinder AE nichedevelopment but also referred to important enablers. Policy and regulation barriers were observed in allcases. Lack of clear policy and regulations included complex regulations and inconsistent policies for AEsystems. Working closely with policy and governance stakeholders was regarded as an enabling factor indeveloping the projects, especially at the early phases. Having no internal vision was considered a barrier asit leads to difficulty in formulating a business plan that in turn may hinder securing funding. Lack of financialsupport is in turn one of the key barriers for the projects having challenges in securing bank guarantees forequipment and operation costs as well as permitting costs. The novelty of the technology in some countriesalso created barriers in convincing permitting authorities and finance stakeholders about project viability.Further, lack of expertise was seen as something that could be overcome through sharing experiences withsimilar projects in the same regions or in other countries. Exchange of lessons lead to strengthening of theproject and peer-to-peer feedback. Support of fossil fuels by governments reduces subsidies for innovationssuch as AE systems and leads to lack of incentives for adapting AE or large-scale collective energy systemsand is therefore regarded as unfair competition for renewable energy alternatives. Reluctance and lack ofacceptance of AE technology due to skepticism about renewable energy technologies is also a hindrance toAE development. Finally, lack of public awareness is a related barrier which can partly be attributed to keystakeholders withholding information that could benefit the projects through information exchange. Regardingenablers, networks and stakeholder collaboration were regarded as fundamental in the implementation andsuccess of projects. Good communication with these stakeholders was also seen as a key success and anenabling factor to ensure a full understanding of the project details and expectations.