One in four Austrian households is connected to a district heating network, and half of the energy is currently generated using fossil fuels. The use of solar and wind energy or waste heat from industrial plants would be more climate-friendly. However, the heat must be stored in order to be available when needed. One solution is earth basin heat storage, which is reminiscent of an underground reservoir the size of a football field. It is formed from dykes built all around.
Such a new type of storage facility exists in the municipality of Høje-Taastrup in Denmark, half an hour’s drive from Copenhagen. The basin has a capacity of 70,000 cubic metres of water. The thermal energy from heating plants and waste incineration plants is stored there for the district heating system all year round.
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Image: Ioannis Sifnaios DTU
Source: Nachrichten
