Power-to-Heat solutions: The Danish district heating system

Abstract

The aim of this report is to investigate the potential of using surplus electricity generated by wind turbines in a power-to-heat (P2H) setup serving the Danish district heating market. The research establishes a theoretical position on variable renewable energy, district heating, heat pumps, boilers, and thermal energy storage through academic literature and industry professional reporting research. The empirical section touches upon the same topics, focusing on total energy production, curtailment, and district heating (DH) in Denmark. An analysis of the amount of curtailed power production in combination with electricity spot prices was used to calculate the corresponding heating demand that could be achieved if the power was used for large-scale heat pumps and electric boilers. It was found that the potential power-to-heat supply ranges from 18,100 to 63,380 households across the scenarios analyzed. The conclusion is that there seems to be a clear potential for redirecting the surplus electricity into DH to meet part of the Danish heat demand, and that the ongoing technological development of DH, thermal energy systems (TES), and variable renewable energy (VREs) in combination with market conditions favors a focus on sector coupling and P2H in the future.