Climate-friendly heat for the Saar
Saarbrücken. Saarbrücken-based Iqony Energies and Fernwärme Verbund Saar GmbH (FVS) have joined forces with the Entsorgungsverband Saar (EVS) to add a heat extraction system to the Velsen waste-to-energy plant (AVA). From the 2022/2023 heating period, around 170,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of heat per year will be fed into the Saar district heating network via a six-kilometer-long connecting pipeline.
The project brings the partners an important step closer to the long-term goal of decarbonizing the district heating supply in Saarland, i.e. permanently reducing the CO2 emissions generated. This will make district heating, which is already climate-friendly compared with other energy sources because it conserves resources, even more climate-friendly in the future. The parties involved want to continue along this path and examine the development of further waste heat potential for the benefit of district heating.
"This project makes an important contribution to making the heat supply in Saarland both crisis-proof and climate-friendly," underlines Economics and Energy Minister Jürgen Barke. "Due to the changed framework conditions caused by the crisis and new demands on our energy supply in connection with the Ukraine war, it is important to comprehensively develop our domestic heat potentials. In this way, we are making our industrial location more independent of distortions on the energy markets.
Iqony stands for climate-friendly and secure district heating
"At an early stage, we looked at technical and energy alternatives for a gradual decarbonization of the district heating supply in the Saar," says Anke Langner, member of the management board of Iqony Energies, a subsidiary of the Essen-based energy company Iqony. "In tapping the climate-friendly heat from AVA Velsen, we were able to successfully contribute Iqony's engineering and energy management expertise in particular." These will continue to be of great importance in the future when it comes to pushing ahead with the decarbonization that has already begun and tapping additional heat sources, he added.
EVS: From waste disposal company to resource manager
For EVS, the connection of its waste-to-energy plant to the Saar district heating network is a beacon. AVA Velsen has been feeding electricity into the public grid for around 35,000 households for a long time. Now its potential is also being used to supply heat. AVA Velsen will supply 16,000 households with district heating from the current heating period.
"The plant thus stands for both disposal and supply security in equal measure," says EVS Managing Director Stefan Kunz. "The consistent use of existing green energy resources is good for the climate and for the fee budget, which will also be relieved by the expected revenue. This shows once again that the waste management industry can make an important contribution when it comes to the sustainable transformation of our energy supply," says Stefan Kunz.
"The consistent use of potential at AVA Velsen for electricity and heat generation is an important milestone in EVS's strategy towards increased energy self-generation and thus an increasingly visible independence from existing market fluctuations and availability issues," emphasizes EVS Managing Director Holger Schmitt.
Valuable contribution to climate protection
Already today, more than 90 percent of the heating and hot water with which the Fernwärmeschiene Saar (FVS) supplies its more than 13,500 customers along the 660-kilometer-long pipeline network comes from climate-friendly waste heat utilization or from energy generation based on the resource-saving principle of combined heat and power (CHP).
The partners have invested a combined total of more than 20 million euros in the expansion of the Velsen waste-to-energy plant into a cogeneration plant and the construction of a connection line to the existing district heating network of the FVS. The 170,000 MWh of heat extracted annually will further improve the climate balance of the Saar district heating supply.
"With this project, the partners have demonstrated technical and economic foresight," sums up Dr. Ralf Schiele, who is responsible for the Market and Technology divisions on Iqony's management board. The current energy crisis in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine drastically demonstrates how important it is to tap previously unused heat sources in order to quickly and sustainably reduce dependence on imported natural gas as much as possible, he said. "In the end, this not only has a positive effect on the environment and climate, but also helps to stabilize energy prices and ensure security of supply," says Ralf Schiele.
