Photograher: Jesper Voldgaard
13.5 € per MWh heat The total investment for solar cells will be 7.25 million €. The gain is a production price for 1 MWh of the heat of 13.5 € when production takes place with a heat pump. The calculation looks like this: The electricity production price is 47 € per MWh. It must be divided by 3.5 due to the COP factor in the heat pump. This gives a heating price of 13.4 € per MWh of heat. Only 2 € per MWh will be added for heat pump maintenance. - A heating price of 13.5 € per MWh is very low, not least when compared to natural gas, which has, in periods, led to heating prices of up to 135 € per MWh, says Søren Gertsen. He also expects that Grenaa DH Company will be able to sell up to 2.1 million kWh of electricity per year. Income from elec- tricity sales will reduce the heating price. - But for us, it's not primarily about making money on the elec- tricity market; the most important thing is to keep the heating price down because we can produce our own electricity, he says further.
An essential prerequisite for a good business case is that you can operate with net billing for the part of the electricity you use yourself, which means that you do not pay net tariffs. Windmill is on the wish list. The PV cells will be able to cover the electricity consumption for heat production at Grenaa DH Company in summer, where at the same time, electricity can be sold to the grid. In winter, it will be necessary to purchase electricity. At least for now. Be- cause in 2023, an expansion of the PV plant will be put into operation - and in the long term, a 2 MW wind turbine may have to be established in Grenaa. - We have started discussions with the municipality, which must grant permission for a wind turbine. We are looking to buy a used German wind turbine of 2 MW, which will increase our electricity production so that we become even more self-sufficient. With PV cells and a wind turbine, we can pro- duce electricity more days a year than just with the sun, says Søren Gertsen. Today, wood chips make up approximately 74% of the heat production in Grenaa. In the long term, that share must be re- duced to approximately 50% as a consequence of own elec- tricity production. On the other hand, the share of heat pro- duction from heat pumps based on surplus energy must be increased. - We want to reduce heat production from wood chips and in- crease heat production from heat pumps and perhaps a future electric boiler that uses our own electricity. Less use of the chip boilers will have derived benefits in the form of less wear and tear and maintenance, thus an extension of life in addition to saved costs for chips, says Søren Gertsen.
The prerequisite for the investment is a calculation with an electricity price of 0.12 € per kWh when sold at Nord Pool.
- The electricity price fluctuates significantly, but in the past year, we have seen very high electricity prices, up to 0.4-0.5 € per kWh. We have set a conservative and cautious price as the basis for our calculations. We have a 25-year mortgage, so that is our repayment period, and it is the advantage for district heating companies that we can think about the long term, which helps to minimize the risk of the investment and thus the heating price, says Søren Gertsen.
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