Solar as energy source to district heating is booming

Solar energy has indeed found its way to the Danish district heating consumers. The number of large solar plants connected to the Danish district heating network is now 40, and they provide enough heat for the consumption in approximately 7500 households.

The growth is almost explosive, as shown in recent report from the Danish District Heating Association.

Just in the last few years, 11 new plants has been put in operation, and the total area covered with solar panels has increased from 230,000 to 312,000 square meters. Within the next year, this will rise further to over 580,000 square meters, according to Danish District Heating Association, which expect a growth of 86 percent.

“This is very good news for the environment. Solar is able to replace natural gas as fuel. The existing system alone saves the environment from more than 25,000 tons of CO2 a year”, said John Tang, head of department at Danish District Heating Association.

He expects that up to 20 percent of the district heating from the Denmark´s decentralized CHP plants in 2020 will come from solar.

Source: The Danish District Heating Association