The works to expand the heat transport pipeline network in Ponferrada, which began in June 2024 and are scheduled to be completed in April 2025, will be able to meet the demand of more than 2.800 homes and 43 tertiary buildings and will mean the shutdown of more than 100 fossil fuel chimneys in the city.
The new infrastructure will have a renewable thermal energy production capacity of 32.000.000 kWh/year. The total budget required for the complete development of all parts of the project will be approximately 12,5 million euros.
Ponferrada's district heating is an important energy infrastructure that uses as fuel Renewable forest biomass (forest chips from forestry work in the mountains of Castilla y León)The network extends across the western part of the city to meet the heating and hot water demands of both public buildings and private buildings interested in connecting. Currently, 15 tertiary buildings are connected to the heating network: schools, institutes, heated swimming pools, the Rosaleda retirement home, etc.
The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions achieved with this important environmental project amounts to 8.300 tonnes of CO2/year. The associated job creation will be 12 stable jobs, both direct and indirect.
The building constructed for the generation plant has a constructed area of 1.029 m2 and is divided into four different areas. The heat generation area houses the installed biomass boiler with 4.500 KW of thermal power. This is a hot water boiler with mobile grate technology that uses forest biomass as fuel - mainly poplar, pine and oak - and has continuous combustion control to minimise emissions into the atmosphere. In addition, it has an advanced smoke filtering system consisting of a multi-cyclone and an electrofilter. The rest of the elements of the thermal energy production facility are also located within this area.
The heat generation plant in its current initial phase has a 4,5 MW boiler, and will be expanded in the future with two more boilers, which in its final phase will reach 18,5 MW of thermal power.
The construction works for the first phase of the renewable thermal energy generation plant and the heat transport pipeline network have been completed and have been in operation since December 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the works for the extension of the generation plant for the installation of the second biomass boiler will be put out to tender.
The objectives are:
- To provide an urban service for the centralised supply of thermal energy to which both public and private buildings can be added, thereby achieving important synergies at all levels.
- Replacing the use of fossil fuels with renewable, sustainable and indigenous energy (biomass) that contributes to generating employment in rural areas, reduces the energy dependence of the region and contributes to the prevention of forest fires in our autonomous community.
The advantages for future users:
- Absence of own heat production equipment, fuels and chimneys (0 breakdowns, 0 replacements, 0 combustion risks, 0 noise and vibrations, 0 maintenance costs)
- Savings on energy bills (between 20 and 40%)
- Reduction in boiler maintenance and replacement costs
- Improving the energy rating of buildings by using a renewable energy source
- Permanent technological updating
- Greater guarantee, stability and security in energy supply
Heat networks in Castile and Leon
For more than a decade, the Junta de Castilla y León has been developing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects through its Public Company for Infrastructure and Environment of Castilla y León (SOMACYL).
The systems built have required an investment of €36 million, and include, among others, the heating network of the University of Valladolid and the industrial heating network of the Villalonquéjar Industrial Estate in Burgos.
In the coming years, SOMACYL plans to invest around €150 million in new renewable energy projects.
In addition, SOMACYL participates in various companies that have developed biomass electricity generation projects in the Community, including the Cubillos del Sil generation plant in León, with an investment of €120 million, and the Garray plant in Soria, with an investment of €50 million.
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