If Denmark is to start with CO2 capture, storage, and utilization of CO2, then it is obvious to look towards the energy and supply sector, where the potential for CO2 capture is enormous. In a new proposal, the Danish District Heating Association presents some recommendations to realize the sector’s great potential.
The Danish District Heating Association assesses that there still needs to be an established framework and coherent regulation to ensure a quick and efficient implementation of CO2 capture in the Danish energy and supply sector.
Therefore, the industry organization has gathered some recommendations in a comprehensive CCUS plan, which will ensure that CO2-emitting utility companies can reduce emissions through CO2 capture, contribute to the Danish climate goals and supply biogenic CO2 for green fuels and negative emissions.
– We have enormous potential to deliver real CO2 reductions that can contribute to us meeting our overall climate goals. We as a society must realize the potential to ensure a green energy and supply sector and a completely green Denmark. However, it requires us to change the framework conditions of the supply sector. That is why we have brought the entire industry together in a proposal that focuses precisely on the necessary solutions, says Kim Mortensen, director of Dansk Fjernvarme.
Dansk Fjernvarme’s membership consists, among other things, of approximately 350 district heating and cogeneration companies and waste energy plants. The companies’ primary focus is to supply green and competitive district heating with high security of supply.
– The sector is already a decisive piece in Denmark’s green transformation in that we are phasing out black energy in our own companies, private homes, and industry in general. By giving the sector a broader framework for establishing CO2 capture, the potential is even more significant. We can assume joint responsibility for restructuring parts of the other sectors in transport and agriculture. We stand with a group of members who demand the necessary framework that allows them to start investing in CO2 capture because it is a costly investment, says Kim Mortensen.
Danish waste energy and biomass plants can supply CO2 for the production of green fuels
In the future, many of the world’s planes, ships, trucks, and industry will run on green fuels produced at Power-to-X plants. Those plants need biogenic CO2 for their processes, and the district heating sector can supply this from waste energy and biomass plants.
– We estimate that the need for CO2 from biogenic sources for the production of green fuels in 2050 will be between 3 and 5 million tons. Therefore, it makes good sense to establish CO2 capture at waste energy plants and biomass plants, where the CO2 can be captured effectively, says Jannick Buhl, chief consultant at the Danish District Heating Association.
Waste-to-energy plants, in particular, can contribute a large part to CO2 reductions by establishing CO2 capture at the plants. However, the new bill on putting the waste energy capacity to competition is challenging, as the proposed competition model will lead to great uncertainty among waste energy companies and prevent long-term investments.
– If a waste-to-energy plant is under competition and threatened for existence through a political agreement that says 30 percent must go bankrupt or close by 2030, then it will be challenging to obtain financing for long-term and climate-friendly investments. This puts the companies in a strange limbo towards 2030 when the partial goal of 70 percent CO2 reduction must be reached, says Jannick Buhl and concludes:
– Our clear recommendation is that it is best for the climate and consumer prices if the competition model is dropped and a clear and well-known framework is created so that we can instead invest in utilizing waste energy’s great potential for CO2 capture.
Translated from the Danish District Heating Association’s website