A business case for sharing investment and benefit NewPit Thermal Energy Storage (PTES) in Greater Copenhagen
By Lars Gullev, CEO, VEKS
Simply put, the storage is a hole in the ground with a liner able to withstand a maximum of 95ºC hot water. But the PTES is the first heat storage in Copenhagen, located outside in the distribution network but optimized by the transmission network. The PTES is charged from the transmission network and discharged to the distribution network. As the PTES is the first of its kind, it is a re-search and development project too – and the reason why the EUDP (Energy Technology Devel- opment and Demonstration Program) has contributed to the construction and the supplementary data collection in the operational phase - a total of DKK 13 million (€ 1.7 million).
Høje Taastrup Fjernvarme a.m.b.a. (district heating company (HTF)) and the district heating transmission company VEKS are currently establishing a Pit Thermal Energy Storage (PTES) in Høje Taastrup near Copenhagen. The PTES will optimize the total district heating (DH) and electricity production in the Greater Copenhagen DH network. You will find the technical part of the PTES described in Hot Cool 2019 no. 4 The PTES is owned 50/50 jointly between HTF and VEKS, but with HTF as the daily operator. The cooperation “Varmelast” (controlled by the DH/transmission companies HOFOR, CTR, and VEKS) ensures the daily economic optimization of the pit storage. All parties who benefit economically from the PTES are financing it - i.e., the waste-to-energy (WTE) plants and the conventional combined heat and power (CHP) plants supplying heat to the Greater Copenhagen DH transmission network - and the two transmission companies CTR and VEKS. It turned out to be a slightly more difficult challenge to get an agreeable model in place with the producers. A detailed system calculation had to be signed first - to determine the value of the future storage for each stakeholder. The storage The PTES is 70,000 m3 and has a charging and discharging capacity of 30 MW. In terms of energy, the PTES has a storage capacity of 3,300 MWh. It is not a 24-hour nor a seasonal storage - but so-called weekly storage, expected to be charged and discharged 25-30 times a year.
Operational value
The calculated operational value in 2025 is DKK 6.1 million (€ 0.8 million). In the following years, the operational value will increase due to rising electricity prices.
The value (operating profit) is created by:
• Additional production at the most efficient available CHP and WTE plants • Saved peak load and by-pass operation at the production facilities - especially in winter • Optimization of the CHP utilizing the volatility of the electricity market price.
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