In 2006, following a public tender, Districlima Zaragoza was awarded the concession to build and operate for 35 years the International Exposition site’s centralized heating and cooling system.
The contract will generate total revenues of E300 million, with an investment of approximately E25 million. Elyo Iberica, a Suez Energy Services (SES) subsidiary in Spain, will operate the energy plant. The district heating and cooling system is expected to meet the thermal energy needs of zone users while avoiding over 20,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
In the first stage, designed to meet the needs of International Exposition Zaragoza 2008, the system will consist of two gas-fired boilers, four electric motor driven compression chillers and a 11,000 cubic-meter capacity chilled water reservoir.
In the second phase, a 6MW cogeneration unit will reportedly be added to meet energy demand arising from the zone’s development, with a planned expansion to 2.7 million square feet (sqft) from the current 1.9 million sqft. The system is designed to accommodate further extension to neighboring districts.
