Germany’s Heat and Power Association AGFW and Solites, the Steinbeis Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Thermal Energy Systems established a new Working Group on Solar District Heating. The group was kicked-off in a first meeting in December 2009 in Frankfurt. At present the group is composed of representatives of 9 district heating enterprises (one Austrian utility included), 5 solar thermal industries, the German Ministry for the Environment, AGFW and Solites.

The second workshop of the SDH working group was held in April 2010 in the south-German city of Crailsheim, where 15 participants visited Germany’s largest solar district heating installation with seasonal heat store. The objective of the working group is to bring together the two sectors and to commonly develop new opportunities for solar thermal in the district heating sector. “Our aim is to employ solar thermal energy as both ecological and economical feasible addition to heat from high-efficiency cogeneration and also as alternative heat source for new district heating systems.” explains Werner Lutsch, CEO of AGFW. Key topic on the groups working agenda is a detailed analysis of the controversy between the availability of heat from cogeneration and additional renewable heat.

The conviction of Mr. Wagner, CEO of Stadtwerke Crailsheim, and the extended plant visit guided by Stadtwerke’s plant engineer Michaela Schopf and Solites’ Director Dirk Mangold could clarify many questions about solar district heating and was considered as very useful by the participants. The next workshops will focus on large-scale collector technology and plant feasibilities issues.

For further information please contact

AGFW e.V. – German Heat and Power Association
Dr. Heiko Huther
Email: h.huther@agfw.de