District heating in alpine communities areas: a case study in the Primiero valley (North-east Italy).

The increasing energy cost (driven up by oil and naturale gas price) and the growing interest toward renewable energy sources are fostering the use of wood biomass as an energy source. In thisi work, a case study of the Primiero Valley (Dolomites - Italy) is presented. The current energy request for building heating is assessed, factoring the various kinds of final uses (houses, hotels, coomercial estabilishmenst, etc.). This request is compared against the actual availability of wood wastes both from local industrial operations (sawmills) and from forest management activities. In addition, the interactions (especially on the supply side) with nearby, biomass based, district heating systems already in operation is taken in account. Based on the aforementioned analysis, an integrated proposal is presented for a district heating system, tightly knit with the organization of the local community in such a way to optimize environmental as well as economics and management aspects.