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Leipzig relies on solar thermal energy: Germany's largest system is being built!
Find out how the new solar thermal system in Leipzig combines innovative heat supply with renewable energies.
Leipzig relies on solar thermal energy: Germany's largest system is being built!
The largest solar thermal system in Germany is in Leipzig and is the focus of an important project for the transformation of urban heat supply. Project manager Erik Jelinek from Leipziger Stadtwerke explains that this project represents a combination of renewable, innovative and conventional heat supply technologies. With solar thermal energy, which is considered one of the most efficient renewable heat sources, the city can rely on a sustainable and future-proof energy supply.
The advantages of solar thermal energy are impressive: It enables energy production that, based on the area, can be three times as much as with photovoltaic systems and 30 to 45 times more than with biomass. The large-scale plant in Leipzig is scheduled to be commissioned at the beginning of next year and will generate around 26 gigawatt hours of heat per year with a peak output of 41 megawatts.
The contribution to greenhouse gas neutrality
As part of the city's district heating transformation plan, the solar thermal system will cover approximately 20 percent of the heat demand on hot summer days. The system uses vacuum tube collectors that are connected to pipes both underground and above ground and uses water as a heat transfer medium. Thanks to the intelligent control technology, the system is controlled based on solar radiation and adapted to the respective conditions in the Leipzig district heating network.
The plantings and an ecologically sustainable care concept for the facility should even help to increase biodiversity on the area, which brings an additional ecological advantage.
Support through funding programs
The creation of transformation plans, such as the one for the new solar thermal system, is supported by federal funding for efficient heating networks (BEW). These plans show the path to greenhouse gas neutrality of a heating network by 2045 at the latest. They include the current IST state, the desired greenhouse gas-neutral TARGET state and the necessary steps to get there. A distinction is made between transformation plans for existing heating networks and feasibility studies for new heating networks.
Eligible heat generation technologies include solar thermal energy, heat pumps and deep geothermal energy, with full compliance with the funding criteria being crucial for approval. A heating network can be considered greenhouse gas neutral if all of the heat input comes from eligible systems. The creation of feasibility studies and transformation plans requires geo-referenced technical data and the costs also vary significantly depending on the size of the network.
Overall, the new solar thermal system not only makes a significant contribution to sustainable heat supply in Leipzig, but also plays a key role in achieving climate goals by promoting the use of renewable energies in the urban heating sector. This makes it an important building block for the energy transition in Germany.