District Cooling Expansion & Reengineering in Helsingborg

Location: Helsingborg, Sweden

Population: 113,816

Climate: Oceanic

Duration: 2017 – 2018

Sector: District heating and/or cooling

Funding sources: Public

City networks:  Covenant of Mayors

Savings: A total of 1173 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents were saved per year.

Solutions: Öresundskraft makes a better, sustainable, and competitive cooling service available to customers on a city-wide scale with this program.

Multiple benefits: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and system energy efficiency.

The municipal energy company Öresundskraft in Helsingborg, Sweden, provides District Cooling to a range of consumers in the downtown area. Large users such as a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility and a major hospital, and a variety of offices and other commercial buildings are among the customers.

Objective – To address growing consumer demand for District Cooling while also improving the service’s environmental advantages.

Solutions – The system has been in operation since 1999 has been re-engineered to enable a 30 MW (thermal) cooling capacity expansion and considerable improvements in energy efficiency and environmental performance. Cold seawater and absorption chillers fueled by surplus heat from industrial operations and waste incineration are part of the new manufacturing mix.

The project at Helsingborg entails the construction of a new cooling production station that will house industrial absorption chillers, seawater heat exchangers, and big seawater pumps, to name a few major components. The construction of a seawater intake and exit pipe system with different filters and strainers is also an important aspect of the project. Furthermore, district cooling can benefit both existing building populations and new construction.

Funding – Investment costs amounted to € 2.93 M.

Innovation – One of the project’s key benefits is utilising natural and domestic sources to provide energy-efficient and sustainable district cooling. Part of the novelty is that the expansion is based on absorption and other technologies that do not require the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) or other dangerous refrigerants. District Cooling in Helsingborg highlights how natural and domestic energy sources that would otherwise be wasted may be utilised to provide competitive and sustainable cooling in smart urban projects.

Success factors – 1) With this initiative, Öresundskraft makes a superior, sustainable, and competitive cooling service available to customers on a city-wide scale; 2) It addresses both the phasedown of HFCs and improved energy efficiency at the same time; 3) It uses renewable or otherwise wasted sources; 4) Energy Efficiency of the System. In its initial expansion stage, the re-engineered system provides 19 GWh/year of cooling to consumers while requiring 2,4 GWh/year of power for cooling generation and distribution.

Significant outcomes

• Emissions and electricity consumption have been reduced by 65-70 % by using seawater and waste heat for cold production;
• The total annual reduction of CO2-equivalents is 1173 tonnes, of which energy efficiency accounts for 92%.

Synergies with local policies:

• Helsingborg Climate and Energy Plan 2018 – 2024. The work has produced six targeted areas where efficient energy use is found. One of the energy’s goals is to reach 100% recycled or renewable energy in district heating by 2024 (from 99.6% in 2016);
• Energy Strategy 2035 -a short version. The Energy Strategy and Plan are intended to promote a shared understanding of energy supply and usage across the Municipality. In 2035, no fossil fuels will be utilised for power, district heating, or district cooling. Also, waste heat is used to provide district heating and cooling when it is technically and economically feasible, as well as environmentally and health-wise.

Political alignment:

• The District Heating Act. It was launched in 2008, focusing on transparency, rejecting unbundling, third-party access, and pricing regulation. This soft transparency regulation required the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate to disclose annual balance sheets and profit and loss statements for all Swedish district heating operations;
• National Energy Efficiency Action Plan sets a target of energy consumption reduction by a further 20% by 2030 (2005 baseline). The Plan also focuses on efficient district heating and cooling;
• Sweden’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan tackle the EU Energy Union’s five dimensions, including energy efficiency, emphasising the current potential for high-efficiency cogeneration and efficient district heating and cooling.

Marketability: The district cooling expansion project in Helsingborg is an excellent illustration of how HFC phasedown and greater energy efficiency may be accomplished simultaneously and on a city-wide scale.

District cooling may be used at numerous scales and in various built settings, including airports, resorts, universities, and entire cities, demonstrating its real global potential.