Holbaek Kommune

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Holbæk is a municipality located in Northwest Zealand. By area, it is one of Denmark's largest municipalities. Over 71,000 inhabitants live in 18 local areas covering 578.33 km2. In January 2020, the Municipal Council set a target to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% by 2030 in compare to 1990, which corresponds to approximately halving the current emissions. To acheive these actions in Holbaek cover 3 areas, these are: heating, electricity and transportation.

With regards to heat, Holbæk municipality is mostly dominated by natural gas, it is one of few Danish rural cities with a large district heating network, providing a clear edge for change. In the nearest future, Holbæk municipality aims to start replacing existing heat supply units with renewable energy-based technologies. Primarily, the municipality is interested in wood chip boilers, heat pumps, and solar heat. Consumers without access to a district heating network will be encouraged to replace natural gas boilers with individual heat pumps or hybrid (natural gas boiler combined with heat pump) solutions. Furthermore, the biogas production potential in the municipality is calculated at around 100 GWh per year and with efforts made in the implementation of heat pumps, may be able to provide flexibility and meet the bulk of heat demand.

Furthermore, the Municipal Council has just approved the preparation for phase 1 of district heating in Holbaek, with the goal that the first customers would have district heating by 2025 and the roll out to be completed by 2028.

The key unique features of this project is the scale of the district heating expansion. The long-term plan is to convert the entire city from natural gas to district heating - which is challenging as Holbaek, is the biggest gas-heated city in Denmark. The expectation of the project is that Holbaek will be provided with two geothermal well pairs which can supply 15-30 MW.

The organizations model for this project is driven by the local municipality however, it is worth considering the broader Danish context. The Danish district heating sector provides 64 pct. of all Danish households with district heating. This makes Denmark one of the countries in Europe with the most developed district heating supply networks. Because of how district heating works, it is regarded in Denmark as a natural monopoly, meaning that is regulated by a principle of non-profit. This has created a structure where municipally-owned utilities deliver around two thirds of all district heating. The remaining district heating companies are predominantly consumer-owned cooperatives.

Geothermal energy, distributed by heatpumps