INDUSTRIAL SURPLUS HEAT AS PART OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT - The case of Hjoerring Municipality
Locally produced excess heat contributes to the transition towards becoming 100% fossil-free in the municipality of Hjoerring, Denmark. It contributes to increasing independence from international energy prices and crises. At the same time, a much stronger connection is created between the
companies and the local society. This is a real win-win situation:
The price of district heating decreases, and the companies achieve a greener profile and increased goodwill from the local society.
By Poul Rask Nielsen, Senior Project Manager, Hjoerring Municipality
Strategic energy planning The municipality of Hjoerring works consciously to create the conditions for being an attractive settlement for citizens and businesses including good infrastructure (heating, electricity, water, IT, and transport). In the strategic energy planning, the focus is on the production of energy in the municipality being green, based on local energy resources: Electricity, hydrogen, and heat from wind turbine and solar cell parks, biogas plants, as well as excess heat from cold stores and freezers, hydrogen and biochar production. Recently, the city council has approved the initiation of planning work around 22 solar photovoltaic plant (PV) and wind farms totaling 1.7 GW, as well as a significant expansion of the seven existing large locally owned biogas plants. Most unconnected homes are located in the countryside and heated with individual solutions. A few villages are heated by natural gas. In the next few years, a transformation to individual
electrically powered heat pumps is taking place. Some villages recently switched to district heating in connection with the international energy crisis. A view from the mayor's desk over the municipality Cheap locally produced district heating provides independence from fluctuations in international energy prices. It contributes to developing the local society, which rests upon an economically strong and stable foundation. The use of surplus heat from local industry increases cohesion between the local society and industry. It is a win-win both from the perspective of the heat consumers, who get cheaper heat, and the perspective of the companies, who secure both a financial side income and goodwill from their production. The case below from the city of Vraa also shows that new jobs are being established and job creation is taking place in the local society, where previously, for many years, there has been the classic migration from rural areas like Hjoerring towards the larger cities.
10 HOTCOOL no.4 2024
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