Sunshine Supplies Heat and Electricity to Kungälv
The second-largest solar heating facility in Europe is in the municipality of Kungälv in Sweden. The plant delivers an average of 4 GWh of heat annually to the municipal district heating network. This has resulted in the replacement of fossil energy use by bio-energy, and in significant CO2 nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide emission reductions. This solar heating project is a good example of the energy switch, where solar energy replaces fossil fuels.
Description
In 1998 the municipality received grants from the local
investment programmes (LIP) to install an array of solar
collectors. In cooperation with Chalmers Technical University and
contractors, the municipality built a solar collector array with a
surface area of 10,000 m2.
Results
Substantial environmental effects have been attained in this
plant by replacing oil and LPG consumption with district heating
using solar energy. Co2 emissions have fallen by around 1,000
tonnes per year, and the operating costs of the solar plant and
district heating network are low. Furthermore, the system has
reduced air pollution locally, and has allowed the productive use
of solar energy, that would otherwise have not been accessible.
Nowadays, the facility receives several hundred study visits
annually from Sweden, the rest of Europe, South America and China.
Lessons Learned
The cooperation between the municipality, contractors and
consultants worked well, largely because they had previous worked
together on other projects. Today it is often technically efficient
and cost-effective to use solar heat to supplement smaller systems
that use other fuels, or to supplement the district heating
network. However, the cost of investing in solar heating facilities
remains high in relation to the amount of energy produced. The
solar collector modules also are vulnerable items, and are
susceptible to vandalism (stone throwing).
Publication date
May 2009
Document Type
Practice Document
Contact
Thore Eklind, planning engineer at Kungälv Energi AB
Tel:+46 (0)303-23 80 00
E-mail: thore.ekelind@kungalvenergi.se
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