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The aim of this work is the energy efficiency assessment of a power plant located in Renon (Bolzano, Italy) integrated with a district heating system using a multistage modeling approach. The study investigates the energy performance of a 1 MWel ORC generator connected to a district heating network. A wood chip boiler, fed by wood waste and forest residues, provides thermal energy to an Organic Rankine Cycle with regenerative section. The electricity produced is delivered to the electric grid and the heat recovered in the condenser is delivered to domestic users by means of a district heating network.

A monitoring activity has been carried out to evaluate the energetic performance in different operating conditions; the system involves both the power plant and the distribution network. Furthermore, a thermodynamic model that simulates the system operation has been developed in Matlab-Simulink environment using REFPROP 9. A preliminary test of the model has been carried out comparing the numerical results with the experimental data.