It can be mistaken for a drainage pipe, where it is somewhat discreetly placed on the side of the road under the mountain Ladehammeren in Trondheim. But in no way is waste water going through the pipe. Through this, 90-95 degree warm water will be pumped 200 meters down to the bedrock. Røyret is one of two test wells drilled in the area. The plan is to gradually drill many such wells in a cylinder – a so-called geothermos – where surplus heat is stored in the summer, and then retrieved again in the winter when the need is greater. A cross-section of the geothermal system at Ladehammeren shows how the many wells will be close together and store the heat. Photo: Asplan Viak The heat will be obtained from the district heating network in Trondheim. It consists of over 50 miles of pipes, which transport hot water for heating various buildings around the city. It is surplus energy from, among other things, waste incineration, sewage systems and industry that is used to heat this water. – In the summer, the heating demand is not so great, so then we have a surplus that we cannot use. Therefore, through this project, we want to see if we can store that heat in the rock at Ladehammeren, says project manager Magnus Woll Bjartnes in Statkraft Varme. In this way, the bedrock at Ladehammeren can become a kind of heating battery, which will ensure that not as much electricity is used in the winter. Magnus Woll Bjartnes is project manager at Statkraft Varme, which implements the project in collaboration with NTNU, Sintef, Asplan Viak, Nyhavna Utvikling and Trondheim municipality. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news Must burden the power grid less This pilot project is supported with almost NOK 6.5 million by Enova. For them, it is important to help find solutions to reduce the burden on the power grid. – We will only need more and more electricity going forward, as we replace fossil energy with electricity, says senior adviser Monica Berner at Enova. – If you do nothing, you will generally not have enough electricity available in Norway. Monica Berner is a senior advisor at Enova, and believes that we will see more heat storage and other energy saving solutions in the future. Photo: Privat Enova has previous good experience from similar pilot projects. Among other things at Fjell skule in Drammen, where they placed solar collectors on the roof that heated water, which was then stored underground. – It has worked brilliantly there. This has led to them using very little electricity in the winter, well below 20 per cent of what they would have done otherwise, says Berner. The sports team at Kolbotn outside Oslo has also saved on expensive electricity in the winter through such innovation. Here, streams of water under the football pitch are a sun catcher in the summer. The heat from here is stored under the ground, and is again used to keep the track clear of snow in winter. Heat for new district In Trondheim, it is hoped that such heat storage can contribute to achieving the goal of being climate neutral by 2028. It is also an important element in the ambition for zero emissions in the planned district of Nyhavna. The district, which will gradually house 5,200 residents and 4,000 workplaces, is located right next to Ladehammaren. Nyhavna in Trondheim is currently little developed, but has great ambitions as a new district. The goal is, among other things, zero emissions, and then heat storage can come in handy. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news The idea is that the geothermal system will become an important part of Nyhavna’s energy system, and simply heat up the district in winter. – Potentially we will also be able to supply heat to the district heating system in Trondheim, says project manager Magnus Woll Bjartnes. But first the project must go through a test period of three years. – We must make sure that this can be carried out safely, and that the rock has the ability to retain heat as we hope and desire. This illustration shows how the heat storage will proceed. Illustration: Asplan Viak A lot of excitement in the ground Monica Berner at Enova believes that we can see more of such solutions in the future, but at the same time points out that it is not just straight ahead. First of all, it requires places with hard and dense rock, which is suitable for storing heat, and, in addition, good expertise in developing suitable facilities. – But with experience gained from this type of pilot project, I hope that in the long term such solutions will be used in more places in the country, says Berner. – There are already several projects underway, so there is a lot of exciting things happening on the ground in Norway.
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Statkraft will store district heating in the bedrock at Ladehammeren in Trondheim – news Trøndelag
