District heating

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In 2020, around DKK 3.6 billion in green loans were disbursed for the conversion of a CHP station from fossil fuels to biomass in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen. By year-end 2020, 60 per cent of the total disbursed green loan volume was in the district heating category.
The City of Copenhagen aims to become the world´s first carbon-neutral capital by 2025. The utility companies HOFOR and CTR contribute to the ambition by converting a combined heat and power (CHP) station from running on coal to running on biomass as a transitional energy solution. HOFOR owns the CHP station Amagerværket, which today has two units – in 2010 one converted to wood pellets and from 2016-2020 the other was replaced by a new unit, AMV4, which runs on certified sustainable wood chips. HOFOR and CTR distribute energy from the station and CTR is the majority owner of the district heating generated at the AMV4 station.

 

The new unit has an energy efficiency of more than 110 percent, which is up to 30 per cent higher than the old coalfired unit and it covers approximately 25 per cent of the heat demand in Copenhagen. It is also a step towards cheaper district heating for the citizens

 

Green loan category

The district heating green loan category covers new investments in and ongoing maintenance of distribution infrastructure and new investments and maintenance of non-fossil energy generation and associated technological solutions providing customers with district heating leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions. With the exception of start-up, and in cases of emergencies, the district heating may be created by back-up measures, e.g. generators run on fossil fuel. KommuneKredit has disbursed 176 green loans of DKK 13.4 billion in total from 2017-2020

Total estimated project cost:
App. DKK 5.6 billion.

 

Disbursed green loans for project purposes from KommuneKredit in 2020: DKK 800 million to HOFOR and DKK 2.8 billion to CTR.

 

Expected environmental impacts:
▪ 1.1 million tonnes in annual CO2 reductions atAmagerværket of which two-thirds regards to the production of district heat and can be attributed to KommuneKredit’s green loans in 2020. The CO2 savings come from corresponding energy savings in coal and therefore today no coal is used at Amagerværket.
▪ Green, secure and afforddable district heating supply.

SDG linkage

 

 

Primary EU environmental objective
Climate change mitigation.