As the first consumer-owned district heating company in Denmark, Skanderborg-Hørning Fjernvarme A.m.b.a has signed an agreement with the geothermal energy company Innargi A/S about researching the potential for developing geothermal energy for district heating. The goal is to make district heating in Skanderborg and Hørning even more sustainable and to secure low, stable energy prices in the future.
District heating in Skanderborg and Hørning is actually already green, but the ambition is for it to be even more sustainable. That is why the plan is for geothermal energy to replace a large part of the biomass consumption in the future. The goal is also to secure stable, low prices on the heat in our radiators.
"Today, we only use locally produced, certified biomass. And we will also do that in the future, but we need to burn less and be less dependent on the price of biomass. Therefore, we wish for geothermal energy to be an important source for our district heating. Geothermal energy is a climate friendly, local, and very price stable source of heating able to deliver 24/7 and 365 days a year," says Erling Weber Jensen, the chairman of the board in Skanderborg-Hørning Fjernvarme A.m.b.a.
This vision is supported by the mayor of Skanderborg, Frands Fischer:
"This enterprise fits nicely into the city council's goals of phasing out the use of biomass as fuel and instead replace it with 100 pct renewable and sustainable energy sources for the heating supply. Geothermal energy is independent of the season and is in that way both a stable and sustainable source of heating - even during the winter. Naturally, that is why we support and hope for the initial investigation to show positive results," says Frands Fischer.
The municipality of Skanderborg is a member of the climate partnership DK2020 who works on translating the goals of the Paris Agreement into concrete actions. This means among other things, that the municipality (as a geographical location) has committed to becoming CO2-neutral before 2050.
Skanderborg and Hørning need to be connected
The district heating company's board of directors has initiated the project with a master plan to be ready sometime during 2023. The goal is to distribute the safe, cheap, and climate friendly heat to the benefit of more people, to decrease the heating prices in the long term, and to make the entire district heating network more energy efficient. For this, geothermal energy plays a key role. There is, however, an important prerequisite that needs to be in place:
"We need to connect the networks in Hørning and Skanderborg if we are to secure a sufficient foundation for geothermal energy", explains Erling Weber Jensen, who relates that all of the work is being propelled by the unique spirit of a consumer owned company:
"When you are directly owned by the consumers, you get a lot of comments while at your local supermarket now that heating prices are a hot topic. We are well off in Skanderborg and Hørning. And we need to be that in the future as well - that is why we are taking the initiative now."
The greater Copenhagen area and Aarhus enables much more geothermal energy in Denmark Innargi, the company responsible for the development and operation of the geothermal plant if the parties involved reaches an agreement, is currently in the process of building EU's largest geothermal heating plant for the district heating company Kredsløb in Aarhus. And it is precisely the company's big projects in Aarhus and the greater Copenhagen area which can make geothermal heating an attractive option for medium-sized district heating companies like Skanderborg-Hørning Fjernvarme, says CEO Samir Abboud:
"Usually, you would need a certain size for geothermal energy to be a competitive option. The more wells to drill and plants to build, the cheaper the heating price. However, the projects in the big metropolitan areas enable the district heating networks of nearby smaller cities to make use of a local resource in the form of geothermal energy. That is why I believe that many more district heating companies - and therefore also heating customers - will gain access to geothermal energy in the coming years."
The parties involved expect for it to take about half a year for the contract to be in place. If they succeed, the expectation is for the plant to be placed on Danmarksvej in Skanderborg.
For additional information:
Peter Jensen, CEO, Skanderborg-Hørning Fjernvarme no.: 2089 1305.
Asbjørn Haugstrup, Chief Communication and Public Affairs Officer, Innargi no.: 2672 9421.
Images
Illustrations of geothermal plants can be downloaded via these links:
https://media.apmoller.com/shared/OmeWbeX0eodxQUZvcDXZFJ3SsPvMqAvL
https://media.apmoller.com/shared/x5YhEVFCoOy36mRD68VDfNcFGj3dUqpV
Images from the launch in Skanderborg can be downloaded here:
https://henrikbjerg.dk/pressebillede/
About the parties involved
Skanderborg-Hørning Fjernvarme A.m.b.a. is a locally rooted district heating company founded in 1958. The almost 11,000 members of the co-operative society are supplied with district heating at low prices and with a high level of security of supply. The heat is produced using primarily local biomass focusing on sustainability. Innargi A/S was founded in 2017 by A.P. Moller holding A/S and is today owned by A.P. Moller Holding, ATP and NRGI. Innargi's mission is to bring geothermal heating to millions of homes with expert knowledge from an experienced team of geologists, reservoir-, facility-, and drilling engineers as well as through partnerships with district heating companies.
May 9, 2024
