Excursion: Solar-thermally supported district heating World's first solar thermal system made of insulating glass flat-plate collectors

19.11.2024

[Translate to English:] Die Isolierglas-Kollektoren sind Teil des Nahwärmenetzes von naturstrom AG in Marktschorgast.

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[Translate to English:] Am Standort Marktschorgast wurden die Exkursionsgruppe von Marc Benker (1. Bürgermeister in Marktschorgast) und Christian Schubert (Betriebsleitung, naturstrom AG) zur Betriebsführung empfangen.

[Translate to English:] Prof. Tobias Schrag begrüßte als Leiter des Projekts W³ die Exkursionsteilnehmer in Eggolsheim und eröffnete damit den Programmpunkt „Fachvorträge und Diskussion“, bei dem Vorträge von naturstrom AG (Ulrich Weidner, Geschäftsfeldleitung Klassische Wärme & technische Betriebsführung) und InES (Fabian Feuchter und Tobias Reum, wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter) präsentiert wurden.

[Translate to English:] Ulrich Weidner stellte die Firma naturstrom AG und deren unterschiedliche Nahwärmeprojekte vor. Im Anschluss an die Vorträge hatten die Teilnehmenden die Möglichkeit, Ihre Fragen mit allen Referenten zu diskutieren.

[Translate to English:] Rebecca Schneider (Betriebsleiterin Wärmenetze, vorne links) und Ulrich Weidner (Geschäftsfeldleitung) von naturstrom AG führten die Teilnehmenden durch die Anlage in Hallerndorf.

[Translate to English:] Luftaufnahme der besichtigten Anlage in Hallerndorf (Quelle: naturstrom AG)

[Translate to English:] Das Projekt „Transfercluster Wärmepumpe & Wärmenetz - Wärmewende intelligent gestalten“ (kurz W hoch 3), das die Exkursion organisierte, wird von InES getragen und ist von der Europäischen Union kofinanziert.

Solar thermal systems offer an opportunity to decarbonise heating networks. This is an important building block for the heating transition to replace fossil fuels and invest in a sustainable future. This excursion offered interesting insights into two district heating networks and their operating experience.

The Institute of new Energy Systems (InES) at THI and its network partner naturstrom AG organised a full-day excursion to Upper Franconia region with three interesting stops as part of the W³ project on Wednesday, 13 November 2024. Two different district heating networks were visited – each one in the towns of Marktschorgast (in the district of Kulmbach) and Hallerndorf (in the district of Forchheim). The specialist event was rounded off with scientific presentations and discussions.

During the on-site visit, the operator naturstrom AG was able to explain the plant technology at both sites to around 50 participants from business, science and the specialised public.
The Marktschorgast site relies on a combination of a combi boiler (for pellet or wood chip firing) with a CHP unit to cover the base load and a gas boiler for redundancy. Solar thermal energy is also integrated, which is realised both roof-mounted and as a ground-mounted system. A special feature of the system is the integration of the world's first solar thermal system made of insulating glass flat-plate collectors (see Picture 1), which was developed by the flexLAC research project at the Institute of new Energy Systems (InES) and built in cooperation with naturstrom AG in 2023.

At the Hallerndorf site, 4 wood chip boilers are operated in conjunction with a 1,304 m² ground-mounted solar thermal system with evacuated tube collectors and generate around 3 million kWh of heat per year in total. Using a central 85,000 litre storage, the system achieves a solar fraction of around 20% over the course of a year.

The "Heat Pump & Heating Grid Transfer Cluster - Shaping the heating transition intelligently" project (W³ in short), which organised the excursion, is supported by InES and co-financed by the European Union. It aims to optimise the grid service operation of heat pumps, promote the networking of players from different areas and the targeted implementation of research results in practice. Further information on the W3 project and future events: www.w3-waermewende.de

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