District cooling with "water as refrigerant" combined with energy storage systems

District cooling is of increasing importance for the provision of "cold" energy for cities, large buildings, hospitals, offices, tunnels, subways, etc.. Load shaving or load shifting requires storage of energy which can be achieved by applying ice or chilled water. Cogeneration is of very high interest in this respect since the economy and versatility of such installations is beneficial and mechanical and thermal energy can be exploited. However, refrigeration systems such as absorption and compression plants need to be balanced properly in order to yield the expected performance. It is possible to supply district cooling plants with "water" as refrigerant only, utilizing water vapour compression and absorption systems with an option to generate electric power. This yields an efficient and economical district cooling plant.