Orsted partners with VEKS and CTR to provide green district heating
SUMMARY
Orsted has signed an agreement with Danish district heating firms VEKS and CTR to harness surplus heat from carbon capture activities at the Avedore power station. [Image: Orsted]
By Shardul SharmaEnergy company Orsted has signed an agreement with Danish district heating firms VEKS and CTR to harness surplus heat from carbon capture activities at the Avedore power station, it said on February 2. The collaboration aims to deliver sustainable district heating to approximately 16,000 households in the Greater Copenhagen area.
The Avedore power station is in the process of establishing a carbon capture plant designed to capture 150,000 tonnes/year of carbon dioxide emitted from its straw-fired unit. This unit utilises locally sourced straw from Zealand's fields to generate heat and power for the Greater Copenhagen area. Commencing in 2026, the plant will capture and store biogenic carbon from its stack emissions.
Once the carbon capture plant is operational, significant amounts of surplus heat will be generated. Orsted plans to utilize this surplus heat to provide cost-effective and environmentally friendly district heating to the Greater Copenhagen area. Importantly, the energy required for the carbon capture process is derived from the power station's own renewable straw-fired unit.
Orsted's approach involves employing a heat pump to upgrade the surplus heat from both the carbon capture process and flue gas condensation, effectively maximizing the use of the same energy source for district heating.
The carbon capture plant at Avedore power station's straw-fired unit is expected to generate approximately 34 MW of surplus heat from the carbon capture process and an additional 19 MW from the flue gas condensation process. The cumulative surplus heat of 53 MW is equivalent to the annual district heating consumption of around 16,000 Danish households.
The agreement between VEKS, CTR, and Orsted spans the period from 2024 to 2027, after which it will be reevaluated to establish a long-term agreement for utilizing surplus heat from the carbon capture plant.
Orsted is concurrently involved in the establishment of another carbon capture plant at the Asnæs power station in Kalundborg, Denmark.
