Construction has begun on United Heat, a renewable cross-border district heating project connecting the cities of Görlitz in Germany and Zgorzelec in Poland.
A mix of renewable systems, predominantly heat pumps, biomass and solar thermal, will replace gas-fired combined heat and power plants in Görlitz and coal and natural gas in Zgorzelec.
The system is complemented by power-to-heat, pit thermal energy storage and waste heat from sewage gas.
These will reduce carbon emissions by around 50,000 metric tons per year.
The sewage treatment plant will serve as a central connection point between the German and Polish networks, able to transport up to 15 megawatts of heat in either direction depending on supply and demand.
Zgorzelec and Görlitz will be connected via a 3.8km pipeline, with 12km of pipelines to link previously separate German networks.
United Heat will be overseen by Stadtwerke Görlitz, part of the Veolia Group and Polish district heating provider SEC Zgorzelec, an E.ON Group subsidiary, with Germany’s Drees & Sommer as project management consultant.
Karl Schultz, Drees & Sommer energy consulting expert, said: “The heat transition may represent the greatest challenge district heating providers have ever faced.
“United Heat has risen to meet it, combining innovative energy technologies into an intelligently managed energy mix, underpinned by close technical and organisational collaboration across national borders.”
Carolin Worech, Drees & Sommer project management team leader, said: “Structured project management with industry-specific processes is what makes it possible to implement such a complex infrastructure project efficiently within such a tight timeframe.”
United Heat forms part of the cities’ transition to a climate-neutral heat supply by 2030.
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