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Covenant of Mayors - Europe

Silkeborg: The largest solar thermal plant in the world

Silkeborg, Denmark

The story of a small Danish town on its way to climate neutrality through a powerful solar-infused heat detox.
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heating and cooling
Mitigation

In the middle of the Jutland peninsula, in Denmark, is located the world’s largest solar thermal plant, since 2016. This impressive infrastructure is part of the heating landscape of none other than Silkeborg: a town of just about 50,000 inhabitants, proving that there are no size requirements to achieve an inspiring heat detox.

An ambitious plan towards decarbonisation

With heat still emitting over 94 thousand tonnes of CO2 in Silkeborg, the town has decided to fully commit to their heat detox, and aims at producing carbon neutral heat by 2030. But this detox journey didn’t start just now – it has been an ongoing process since 2014, when both economic and environmental reasons pushed the district heating company to seek carbon neutral alternatives.

A solar-infused detox

One of the highlights of Silkeborg’s heat plan is its impressive solar thermal plant, whose area surpasses 156,000 m², making it the largest in the world. Thanks to this plant, which covers 20% of the heat demand of the district heating network, the town avoids the emissions 15,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. During the summer, the network is able to function solely on solar thermal energy.

Completing the mix for an effective detox

Currently, the detox mix in Silkerborg counts with solar thermal energy, electric boilers, and waste heat recovery, which can cover 42% of the town’s heat demand. To reach climate neutrality by 2030, the district heating network will soon be powered also by electric heat pumps and a biomass boiler with wood chips generated from gardens and park’s waste. Both of these additions are planned for 2025.

Main challenges to detoxify heat:

  1. Switching to renewable heat sources without increasing the price for consumers
  2.  Finding decent technical solutions that can be accepted by all authorities 

Next steps:

  1. Put new plants into operation (in 2025)
  2. Reach climate neutrality in the heat production by 2030

Where is Silkeborg in its heat strategy:
 


 

Silkeborg's detox mix

Key Heat Figures:

  • Emissions related to heating and electrical production:
    • 94.313,4 tons of CO2
    • 34,04 tons of NOx
  • Km of DHC currently: 610,9 km
  • Km of DHC planned: 221 km more
  • Percentage of renewables in heating system: 42,54%

Covenant Figures

  • Signatory to the Covenant of Mayors since:  2021
  • Emission reduction ambitions: 

% GHG emissions reductions by 2030: 75%

% GHG emissions reductions by 2050: 100%

 

Financing your heat strategy

Budget: Approximately 150 million euros.

Sources

Contact

Per Hvilshøj Christiansen (phc@silkeborgforsyning.dk)