Large-scale solar district heating plants in Danish smart thermal grid: Developments and recent trends

Abstract

Large solar collector fields are very popular in district heating system in Denmark, even though the solar radiation source is not favourable at high latitudes compared to many other regions. Business models for large solar heating plants in Denmark has attracted much attention worldwide. Denmark is not only the biggest country in both total installed capacities and numbers of large solar district heating plants, but also is the first and only country with commercial market-driven solar district heating plants. By the end of 2017, more than 1.3 million m 2 solar district heating plants are in operation in Denmark. Furthermore, more than 70 % of the large solar district heating plants worldwide are constructed in Denmark. Based on the case of Denmark, this study reviews the development of large solar district heating plants in Denmark since 2006. Success factors for Danish experiences was summarized and discussed. Novel design concepts of large solar district heating plants are also addressed to clarify the future development trend. Potential integration of large solar district heating plants with other renewable energy technologies are discussed. This paper can provide references to potential countries that want to exploit the market for solar district heating plants. Policymakers can evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of solar district heating systems in the national energy planning level based on the know-how and experiences from Denmark.

Cost-benefit analysis of district heating systems using heat from nuclear plants in seven European countries

“…Denmark represents the largest solar DH market in the world with 1.3 million m 2 of SCs installed. Tian et al [61] reviewed the development within the Danish DH heating sector. The current solar DH capacity has almost completely been developed over the past 10 years.…”

The Role of Low Temperature Waste Heat Recovery in Achieving 2050 Goals: A Policy Positioning Paper

“…Companies and consumers will, in the upcoming years, receive cheaper heating through a modernisation of the heating sector, where both the district heating sector and consumers will have a free choice to decide on future investments. This will result in cheap heating both for companies and consumers ( [31]). Since the Danish government imposes an energy tax on natural gas, solar district heating plants are given the opportunity to compete with natural gas boilers.…”

“…Since the Danish government imposes an energy tax on natural gas, solar district heating plants are given the opportunity to compete with natural gas boilers. Consequently, solar district heating plants are commercially viable solutions in Danish district energy systems ( [31]). Taking the interest of low temperature district heating investments into account, it is noted that, in Denmark, the 4DH research centre was active between 2012 and 2018 with contributions from several Danish and international universities, together with many Danish district heating and companies.…”

Solar thermal energy

“…Clearly, the climatic conditions and the availability of the solar energy resource have a significant influence on the design and operation of solar energy systems, including photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation and solar thermal. Huang and Fan have compared solar resources in Denmark and China and pointed out the great potential of solar district heating for China (Huang et al 2019).…”