Your choices:
1 Electricity; 2 Water; 3 Electricity
| What is your resource? | What do you want to deliver? | What is the service the customer wants? |
| Biomass (digestible sludge) | District cooling | Comfortable indoor climate |
| Biomass (fermentable sludge) | District heating | 3 Electricity |
| Biomass (solid) | 1 Electricity | Process cooling (< 0 °C) |
| Geothermal | Fuel: Gaseous | Process heat/steam (50 - 150 °C) |
| Sunshine | Fuel: Liquid | Process heat (150 - 1000 °C) |
| 2 Water | Fuel: Solid | Process heat (> 1000 °C) |
| Wind | Local cooling (ind. house) | Transport |
| Residual oils/fats etc | Local heating (ind. house) |
In many cases, electricity is assumed to be the main energy carrier desired by the end users, but this is not necessarily true.
For the end user, the unique thing with electricity is its flexibility or, in thermodynamic terminology, its high share of exergy. Electricity can be converted into mechanical work, into illumination, into extremely high or low temperatures, into pressure, into radiation of different wavelengths; it can be used to run home electronics, for transportation and – basically – any number of applications. Because of the high quality and the high availability with electricity it should be priced accordingly and the use of it should be limited to such applications where the unique features are fully valued.
The high share of exergy in flowing water means that the production of electricity can be done at exceptionally high efficiencies. At the same time – since electricity cannot be stored – the fast control of traditional hydropower installations makes hydropower the best source imaginable for electricity production. Hydropower is also already a significant part of the total electricity balance.
Hence; if the end user desires and really needs electricity, the best source is hydropower stations.