Solar energy solutions for decarbonizing ULT DHC

The EU Renovation wave, initiated in October 2020 by the European Commission, has targeted heating and cooling as a key sector in accelerating the renovation rate of buildings in Europe to notably cut CO2 emissions. One of the main aspects is to support the penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) in heating and cooling, including for district heating and cooling (DHC) networks.

During this webinar, after learning more about the EU renovation wave’s heating & cooling policies, participants heard about the WEDISTRICT project and discover the first results of the ultra-low temperature district heating concept applied in the city of Vinge, Denmark. How did the RELaTED pilot site in Denmark use solar thermal to deliver heat on the Ultra-Low Temperature District Heating and Cooling network? What are the latest progress of the Advanced Tracking Concentrator for Fixed Tilt solar thermal? Collectors developed in the WEDISTRICT project? How can it help foster the EU renovation wave?

About RELaTED

RELaTED aims at solving these issues by providing a demonstrated concept of ultra-low temperature network solution for new district heating systems and by implementing the progressive conversion of systems already in operation. Solar energy appears to be a great technology for this aim. Its incorporation on existing DHC networks is a solution tested notably in one of the pilot sites of the Horizon 2020 project RELaTED. The project is exploring an innovative concept of decentralized Ultra-Low Temperature DHC network which allows for the incorporation of such type of RES in the network, ultimately resulting in a reduction of both the cost of heat and the greenhouse gas emissions of the DHC.