Surplus Electricity to be converted into District Heating

In the future, Helsingør Kraftvarmeværk will utilize its surplus electricity to produce green district heating. This conversion will happen with the help of a new electric boiler, which will start operating during 2023 - thus reducing the need for natural gas and biomass in district heating production.

The project of establishing a new electric boiler in Helsingør Kraftvarmeværk has just begun, and thus the heating plant has taken the first step in converting to green district heating.

Three main reasons for investing in the elctric kettle

Jens Bertram is chairman of the board of Forsyning Helsingør, which owns 2/3 of Helsingør Kraftvarmeværk. According to him, there are three main reasons why the board has chosen to invest in the electric kettle: "First, it will strengthen the business, as the district heating production can now use surplus electricity. Secondly, we support the green transition, as the phasing of new ash-free technologies reduces the use of biomass. And thirdly, customers will be able to get stable and lower district heating prices".The electric boiler reduces the use of biomass and minimizes the need for black energy.

At Helsingør Kraftvarmeværk, they expect the new electric boiler will deliver an output of 30MW - and thus, it can replace up to 15% of the heating plant's current biomass consumption with green district heating.

Use of black energy to be reduced to a minimum

At the same time, there are prospects that the heating plant's use of black energy - in the form of natural gas at peak load, will be reduced to a minimum. Hans Peter Balle, energy manager at Forsyning Helsingør, sees the investment in the electric kettle as a new green step for Helsingør Kraftvarmeværk. He is particularly enthusiastic about the use of surplus electricity.
"With our investment in the boiler, once again it is clear that the country's CHP plants play a crucial role - both in terms of ensuring the security of supply - but also when it comes to making room for the green technologies," explains Hans Peter Balle.

Greener and cheaper district heating

The plan for Helsingør Kraftvarmeværk is to put the new electric boiler into operation in 2023. Therefore, the heating plant's consumers can look forward to greener and cheaper district heating when this happens. As far as the heating plant's dividend is concerned, the investment will, in principle, already have been recouped in less than ten years.

Translated from the Danish article "Overskudsstrøm skal omdannes til fjernvarme" published in Dansk Fjernvarme on November 9th, 2021