Danish biomass technology moves into the French district heating sector
Dall Energy from Hørsholm can today open its first biomass district heating plant in France. This is done in collaboration with the French district heating giant Dalkia. The facility is located in Rouen northwest of Paris and will be inaugurated in the presence of the Danish Ambassador to France Michael Starbæk Christensen and Dalkia’s CEO Sylvie Jéhanno.
The French district heating supply is undergoing a radical transformation, where coal and natural gas will be replaced as an energy source of local sustainable surplus biomass.
And here Dall Energy is well on its way to taking on a key role.
Site manager Jes Sigrist at the start-up burner
In parallel with the opening in Rouen, Dall Energy is working in close dialogue with Dalkia on a number of other similar district heating plants.
– We think there are three crucial reasons why Dalkia chose us. Firstly, our plant is so environmentally friendly that we do not have to install dust filters to meet the stricter legal requirements. Secondly, our technology can handle biomass, which is difficult to burn for traditional technologies, and thirdly, our plants can regulate really far down in load in the summer, where the heat demand is minimal, says Jens Dall, CEO of Dall Energy.
Local and sustainable biomass
The French Energy Agency supports the transition from fossil energy to biomass, and therefore demands that the biomass be local and sustainable.
The French green conversion process fits in with the strategy that Dall Energy has set for the works the company has built and is in the process of building in Denmark.
– It has been crucial and a requirement of the French authorities that the energy source must be locally sustainable biomass. Therefore, the heat will mainly come from local surplus wood and green garden waste, says Jens Dall.
With 12,000 employees and 440 district heating plants, their partner Dalkia is not only France’s, but Europe’s largest district heating company.
