Transforming the Ulaanbaatar heating sector: technology options for

This research paper examines decarbonisation options for the heating sector in Ulaanbaatar, comparing full electrification with the use of solar assisted ground source heat pumps (SAGSHP) to reduce electricity demand and total costs.

• Ulaanbaatar's heating and power sectors are tightly coupled through combined heat and power plants (CHPs), which are the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions. Because the city is the coldest capital globally, with temperatures reaching minus 40°C, heat demand is high, and expanding existing CHP capacity risks long-term coal dependency.
• Comparing a scenario of full electrification to one utilizing large-scale solar assisted ground source heat pumps (SAGSHP) shows that SAGSHP reduces electricity demand by 28%. While SAGSHP increases fixed costs by 30%, it results in 9% lower total costs due to reductions in variable costs (28%), grid expansion costs (23%), and required installed power capacity (22%).
• Full electrification may not be the optimal decarbonisation path for Ulaanbaatar because the resulting surge in electricity demand would strain the power sector and create system inflexibilities that hinder the penetration of renewables. Using technologies that maximise direct renewable heat can help decouple the heat and power sectors.
• The study identifies three essential transformations for decarbonising Ulaanbaatar's heating sector: improving building envelopes and district heating networks for energy efficiency, expanding renewable energy power capacity to increase flexibility, and integrating new renewable energy-based heating technologies.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2022). Transforming the Ulaanbaatar heating sector: technology options for. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/transforming-the-ulaanbaatar-heating-sector-technology-options-for

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. Transforming the Ulaanbaatar heating sector: technology options for. 2022. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/transforming-the-ulaanbaatar-heating-sector-technology-options-for.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=Transforming the Ulaanbaatar heating sector: technology options for |date=11 October 2022 |url=http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/transforming-the-ulaanbaatar-heating-sector-technology-options-for |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2022transforming, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{Transforming the Ulaanbaatar heating sector: technology options for}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/transforming-the-ulaanbaatar-heating-sector-technology-options-for}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }