Central solar heating
Central solar heating is the provision of central heating and hot water from solar energy by a system in which the water is heated centrally by arrays of solar thermal collectors (central solar heating plants - CSHPs) and distributed through district heating pipe networks (or 'block heating' systems in the case of smaller installations).
For block systems, the solar collectors are typically mounted on the building roof tops. For district heating systems the collectors may instead be installed on the ground.
Central solar heating can involve large-scale thermal storage, scaling from diurnal storage to seasonal thermal energy storage (STES). Thermal storage increase the solar fraction - the ratio between solar energy gain to the total energy demand in the system - for solar thermal systems. Ideally, the aim for applying seasonal storage is to store solar energy collected in the summer time to the winter month.
Compared to small solar heating systems (solar combisystems), central solar heating systems have better price-performance ratios due to the lower installation price, the higher thermal efficiency and less maintenance. In some countries such as Denmark large-scale solar district heating plants are financially fully competitive to other forms of heat generation.[1]
Central solar systems can also be used for solar cooling in the form of district cooling. In this case, the overall efficiency is high due to the high correlation between the energy demand and the solar radiation.
Largest CSHPs
Name | Country | Owner | Solar collector size | Thermal Power |
Annual production |
Installation year |
Storage volume |
Storage type Facilities |
Collector manufacturer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
m² | MWth | GWh | m³ | ||||||
Silkeborg | DK | Silkeborg Fjernvarme | 157,000 | 110 | 80 | 2016 | 64,000 | Water tank | ARCON (DK)[2][3][4][5][6] |
Vojens | DK | Vojens Fjernvarme | 70,000 | 50 | 35 | 2012-2015 | 203,000 | Insulated water pond Water tank |
ARCON (DK)[7][8][9] |
Port Augusta, South Australia | Australia | Sundrop Farms | 51,500 | 36.4 | 2016 | Aalborg CSP. Desalination for vegetables. 1.5 MW electricity[10][11] | |||
Gram (Denmark) | 44,801 | 31 | 20.8 | 2009- | 122,000 | Insulated water pond. 10MW electric boiler 900 kW heat pump |
[12][13] | ||
Gabriela Mistral, El Loa, Atacama Desert | Chile | CODELCO mine | 43,920 | 27-34 | 52-80 | 2013 | 4,300 | Water tank | ARCON (DK). Supplies an electrowinning copper process[5][14][15][16] |
Dronninglund | DK | 37,573 | 26 | 18 | 2014 | 60,000 | Insulated water pond | ArCon (DK)[17][18] | |
Zhongba, 4,700 metres altitude[19] | Tibet (China) | 34,650 | 20 | 2019 | 15,000 | Water tank | ArCon[20][21] | ||
Ringkøbing | DK | 30,000 | 22.6 | 14 | 2010-2014 | ArCon[22] | |||
Brønderslev | DK | 27,000 | 16.6 | 8,000 | Water tank | CSP parabolic trough[23][24][25] | |||
Langkazi, 4,600 metres altitude[26] | Tibet (China) | 22,000 | 2018 | 15,000 | Insulated water pond | ArCon[20][27] | |||
Hjallerup | DK | 21,432 | [28] | ||||||
Vildbjerg | DK | 21,234 | 14.5 | 9.5 | 2014 | ArCon[29] | |||
Helsinge | DK | Helsinge Fjernvarme | 19,588 | 14 | 9.4 | 2012-2014 | [30] | ||
Hadsund | DK | Hadsund Fjernvarme | 20,513 | 14 | 11.5 | 2015 | ARCON (DK)[31] | ||
Nykøbing Sjælland | DK | 20,084 | 14 | 9.5 | ARCON (DK)[32] | ||||
Gråsten | DK | 19,024 | 13 | 9.7 | 2012 | ARCON (DK)[33] | |||
Brædstrup | DK | Brædstrup Fjernvarme | 18,612 | 14 | 8.9 | 2007/2012 | 5,000 19,000 |
Water tank Borehole storage, insulated by seashells |
ARCON (DK)[34][35] |
Tarm | DK | 18,585 | 13.1 | 9 | 2013 | ARCON (DK)[36] | |||
Marstal | DK | Marstal Fjernvarme | 17,943 | 13.5 | 8.5 | 1996–2002 | 2,100 3,500 75,000 |
Water tank Sand/water ground pit Insulated water pond |
Sunmark / ARCON (DK). Feeds 0.75 MW ORC turbine[37][38][39][40] |
Jetsmark | DK | 15,183 | 10.6 | 7.6 | 2015 | Arcon/Sunmark (DK)[41] | |||
Oksbøl | DK | 14,745 | 9.9 | 7.7 | 2010/2013 | Sunmark (DK)[42] | |||
Jægerspris | DK | 13,405 | 8.6 | 6 | 2010 | Sunmark (DK)[43] | |||
SydLangeland | DK | 12,500 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 2013 | Sunmark (DK)[44] | |||
Grenaa | DK | 12,096 | 8.4 | 5.8 | 2014 | Arcon (DK)[45] | |||
SydFalster | DK | 12,094 | 8.5 | 6 | 2011 | Arcon (DK)[46] | |||
Hvidebæk | DK | 12,038 | 8.6 | 5.7 | 2013 | Arcon (DK)[47] | |||
Sæby | DK | Sæby Fjernvarme | 11,866 | 8 | 6.3 | 2011 | Sunmark (DK)[48] | ||
Toftlund | DK | 11,000 | 7.4 | 5.4 | 2013 | Sunmark (DK)[49] | |||
Kungälv | SE | Kungälv Energi AB | 10,048 | 7.0 | 4.5 | 2000 | 1,000 | Water tank | ARCON (DK) |
Svebølle-Viskinge | 10,000 | 5.3 | 5 | 2011/2014 | [50] | ||||
Karup | DK | 8,063 | 5.4 | 3.7 | 2013 | ARCON (DK)[51] | |||
Strandby | DK | Strandby Varmeværk | 8,000 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 2007 | ARCON (DK)[52] | ||
Nykvärn | SE | Telge Energi AB | 7,500 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 1985 | 1,500 | Water tank | Teknoterm (SE) ARCON (DK) |
Crailsheim | DE | 7,300 | 2012 | 37,500 | Borehole | Wagner, Schüco, Aquasol, Asgard[53][54] | |||
Ærøskøbing | DK | Ærøskøping Fjernvarme | 7,050 | 3.4 | 3 | 1998/2010 | 1,200 | Water tank | ARCON/Sunmark (DK)[55] |
La Parreña mine | Mexico | Peñoles | 6,270 | 4,4 | 660 | Water tank | ARCON (DK). Supplies an electrowinning process[56] | ||
Falkenberg | SE | Falkenberg Energi AB | 5,500 | 3.9 | 2.5 | 1989 | 1,100 | Water tank | Teknoterm (SE) ARCON (DK) |
Neckarsulm | DE | Stadtwerke Neckarsulm | 5,044 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1997 | 25,000 | Soil duct heat exchanger | Sonnenkraft (DE) ARCON (DK) |
Ulsted | DK | Ulsted Fjernvarme | 5,000 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 2006 | 1,000 | Water tank | ARCON (DK) |
Friederichshafen | DE | Technische Werke Fried. | 4,250 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 1996 | 12,000 | Concrete tank in ground | ARCON (DK) |
Source: Jan Erik Nielsen, PlanEnergi, DK.
Hereafter you find a plant in Rise (DK) with a new collector producer, Marstal VVS (DK), a plant in Ry (DK), one of the oldest in Europe, a plant in Hamburg and a number of plants below 3,000 m². It may be relevant mentioning, that the island of Ærø in Denmark has three of the major CSHP, Marstal, Ærøskøping and Rise.
History of central solar heating plants
- The history of CSHP given here is mainly a Nordic-European perspective on the topic.
Sweden has played a major role in the development of large-scale solar heating. According to (Dalenbäck, J-O., 1993), the first steps were taken in the early seventies in Linköping, Sweden, followed by a mature revision in 1983 in Lyckebo, Sweden. Inspired by this work, Finland developed its first plant in Kerava, and the Netherlands built a first plant in Groningen. These plants are reported under the International Energy Agency by (Dalenbäck, J-O., 1990). Note that these plants did already combine CSHPs with large-scale thermal storage.
The first large-scale solar collector fields were made on-site in Torvalle, Sweden, 1982, 2000 m² and Malung, Sweden, 640 m². Prefabricated collector arrays were introduced in Nykvarn, Sweden, 4000 m² in 1985. There was from the beginning a strong international perspective and cooperation within this research field, through investigation with the European Communities (Dalenbäck, J-O., 1995) and the International Energy Agency (Dalenbäck, J-O., 1990). Denmark did enter this research area parallel to the Swedish activities with a plant in Vester Nebel in 1987, one plant in Saltum in 1988 and one in Ry in 1989, taking over the know-how for prefabricated solar collectors of large size by the Swedish company Teknoterm by the dominating company ARCON, Denmark. In the later 1990s Germany and Switzerland were active among others with plants in Stuttgart and Chemnitz.
Due to cheap land prices, in the Nordic countries new collector arrays are ground-mounted (concrete foundations or pile-driven steel) in suitable areas (low-yield agricultural, industry etc.). Countries with high ground prices tend to place solar collectors on building roofs, following the 'block plant' variant of CSHPs. In Northern Europe, 20% solar heat of annual heating requirement is the economic optimum in a district heating plant when using above-ground storage tanks. If pond storage is used, the solar contribution can reach 50%.[57]
By 1999 40 CSHPs were in operation in Europe generating about 30 MW of thermal power .
Related systems
Central solar heating is a sub-class of 'large-scale solar heating' systems - a term applied to systems with solar collector areas greater than 500 m².
Aquifers, boreholes and artificial ponds (costing €30/m³) are used as heat storage (up to 90% efficient) in some central solar heating plants, which later extract the heat (similar to ground storage) via a large heat pump to supply district heating.[58][59] Some of these are listed in the table above.
In Alberta, Canada the Drake Landing Solar Community has achieved a world record 97% annual solar fraction for heating needs, using solar-thermal panels on the garage roofs and thermal storage in a borehole cluster.[60][61][62]
See also
- District heating
- Solar heating
- Solar cooling
- Solar combisystem
- Solar thermal energy
- District cooling
- Renewable energy
References
- Nicolas Perez‐Mora et al.: Solar district heating and cooling: A review. International Journal of Energy Research 42, 4, 2018, 1419-1441 doi:10.1002/er.3888.
- Wittrup, Sanne (10 January 2017). "Verdens største solfangeranlæg i drift i Silkeborg". Ingeniøren.
- Kornum, René (15 July 2016). "Verdens største solvarmeanlæg på vej ved Silkeborg". Ingeniøren.
- "Record-breaking solar heating system ready on time". Euroheat & Power. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- "DBDH – Record-breaking solar heating system ready on time". 9 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Silkeborg in South-West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Wittrup, Sanne (14 June 2015). "Verdens største damvarmelager indviet i Vojens". Ingeniøren. Archived from the original on 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- http://xqw.dk/work/FG22/okt/Projektforslag_for_udvidelse_af_Vojens_solvarme_med_bilag.pdf%5B%5D
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Vojens in South-West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- "Sundrop Farms Port Augusta". Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- "COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT PANEL AGENDA Meeting #123" (PDF). Port Augusta City Council. Port Augusta City Council. 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
- Inspirationskatalog for store varmepumpeprojekter i fjernvarmesystemet page 59. November 2014
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Gram in South-West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- "Copper mine - Atacama Desert, Chile". Arcon-Sunmark. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- Baerbel Epp (28 November 2016). "Chile: Consistent Electrolytic Bath Temperature Control Increases Copper Cathode Quality". Solarthermalworld.org. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- "Codelco Gabriela Mistral". Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Dronninglund in North Denmark, then "About the plant")
- "Brochure dronninglund 2015 booklet eng print". pp. 5–8. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- "Zhongba Xian". Mapcarta.
- Baerbel, Epp (25 November 2019). "Second Arcon-Sunmark SDH system up and running in Tibet". Solarthermalworld. Archived from the original on 2020-01-13.
- "Major solar district heating project in China". Euroheat & Power. 25 June 2019.
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Ringkøbing in West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Epp, Baerbel (11 August 2017). "Denmark: Concentrating Solar Collectors for District Heat in Northern Europe". www.solarthermalworld.org. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- CSP plant combined with biomass CHP using ORC-technology
- "Aalborg CSP-Brønderslev CSP with ORC project". solarpaces.nrel.gov. 17 May 2017.
- "Langkazi Xian". Mapcarta.
- Baerbel, Epp (29 January 2019). ""SDH – a proven technology with a long track record of success"". Solarthermalworld.
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Hjallerup in West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Vildbjerg in West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Helsinge in East Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Hadsund in West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Nykøbing Sjælland in East Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Gråsten in South Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Brædstrup in Central Denmark, then "About the plant")
- "Brædstrup Solpark". p. 14. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Tarm in West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Marstal in South Denmark, then "About the plant")
- "Sunstore 4 - 100% Renewable District Heating". Sunstore. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- "Marstal Fjernvarme - vandbehandling og solvarme". Silhorko. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- Første danske ORC kraftvarme maskine i Marstal, August 2013
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Jetsmark in North Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Oksbøl in West Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Jægerspris in East Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Langeland in South Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Grenaa in North Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Falster in South-East Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Hvidebæk in East Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Sæby in North Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Toftlund in South Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Svebølle-Viskinge in East Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Karup in North Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Strandby in North Denmark, then "About the plant")
- "Solar District Heating in Crailsheim with Seasonal Borehole Storage - Solarthermalworld". Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- http://www.stw-crailsheim.de/stadtwerke-crailsheim/top-themen/projekt-solaranlage.html
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants (click Ærøskøping in South Denmark, then "About the plant")
- Baerbel Epp (1 December 2016). "Mexico: Second Solar Process Heat Case Study on Copper Mining". Solarthermalworld.org. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- Wittrup, Sanne. "Dansk solteknologi mod nye verdensrekorder" Ingeniøren, 23 October 2015. Accessed: 16 July 2016.
- Epp, Baerbel (17 May 2019). "Seasonal pit heat storage: Cost benchmark of 30 EUR/m³". Solarthermalworld. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020.
- Kallesøe, A.J. & Vangkilde-Pedersen, T. "Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) - 4 PTES (Pit Thermal Energy Storage), 10 MB" (PDF). www.heatstore.eu. p. 99.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Wong B., Thornton J. (2013). Integrating Solar & Heat Pumps Archived 2016-06-10 at the Wayback Machine. Renewable Heat Workshop. (Powerpoint)
- Natural Resources Canada, 2012. Canadian Solar Community Sets New World Record for Energy Efficiency and Innovation Archived 2013-04-30 at the Wayback Machine. 5 Oct. 2012.
- Drake Landing
External links
- Solar District Heating in Europe: Large Scale Solar Heating Systems for Housing Developments
- European Large-Scale Solar Heating Network Thermie Project
- The European Large-Scale Solar Heating Network's former Homepage
- 17.081 m2 CSHP at Ærø, Denmark
- CSHP with an aquifer thermal energy store, Rostock, Germany
- CSHPs in Germany
- Ranking List of European Large Scale Solar Heating Plants
- Current data on Danish solar heat plants
Further reading
- Nicolas Perez‐Mora et al.: Solar district heating and cooling: A review. International Journal of Energy Research 42, 4, 2018, 1419-1441 doi:10.1002/er.3888.
- Central Solar Heating Plants with Seasonal Storage: A Status Report, ISBN 91-540-5201-7, Swedish Council for Building Research, June 1990 .