DOES THE FUTURE OF DISTRICT HEATING LIE WITH SOLAR COLLECTORS, PHOTOVOLTAICS, OR WIND TURBINES?
By corresponding author Anders N. Andersen, PhD, Ext. Ass. Professor at Aalborg University, R&D projects responsible at EMD International and Poul Alberg Østergaard, Professor at Aalborg University
There was little doubt ten years ago that the future for district heating in Denmark was to invest in large solar collectors producing hot water. However, the last years have shown changes that cast doubt on this – amongst others, the war in Europe, wildly fluctuating natural gas and electricity prices, and an overwhelming decrease in the costs of, e.g., photovoltaics (PV). Therefore, the Danish District Heating Association (DDHA) has raised the question of whether solar collectors, photovoltaic, or wind turbines are the future of district heating. We presented one answer to this question at a DDHA meeting in Copenhagen on September 21, 2023. This article gives a short overview of this presentation. We hope this article will make decision-makers of new investments better prepared to ask the right questions for making robust investments in district heating.
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