TE-TO Novi Sad (photo: EPS)
The Novi Sad District Heating Company secured financing f0r its solar thermal project, for an innovative hybrid system for seasonal energy storage that would combine solar collectors, thermal storage and heat pumps. The investment is aimed at decarbonizing the city’s district heating and enabling conditions for balancing the power system.
The solar thermal project is developed by the Novi Sad District Heating Company and state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), with support from the Ministry of Mining and Energy, City of Novi Sad and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The plan is to build a large solar thermal facility for energy storage on about 20 hectares of land in the vicinity of gas-fired cogeneration plant TE-TO in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city.
The loan agreement was signed by Siniša Mali, Minister of Finance, while the project agreement was signed by Dubravka Đedović Handanović, Minister of Mining and Energy, and Nenad Barac, Director of Novi Sad District Heating Company. Both agreements were signed by Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Regional Head of the Western Balkans.
The project incorporates advanced power-to-heat technology
The project is expected to be co-financed by an investment grant of up to EUR 21 million, plus EUR 3 million for project implementation assistance, from the European Union and other donors through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), EBRD said.
The loan is for the construction of a large-scale solar thermal power plant in Novi Sad, featuring 38,600 square meters of solar collector fields, seasonal heat storage system of 850,000 cubic meters, a 17 MW heat pump and a 60 MW electric boiler, incorporating advanced power-to-heat technology.
“After precisely five years of intensive preparations, we managed to secure the financing of the project. Huge and important news for the future of Novi Sad”, said Dušan Macura, Chief of Heat Production and the Distribution Sector in the Novi Sad District Heating Company.
The project envisages reducing the district heating company’s natural gas consumption by around 29%
Producing more than 118,000 MWh of clean renewable heat energy annually, the project should reduce the district heating company’s natural gas consumption by around 29%.
In addition, seasonal thermal energy storage, combined with power-to-heat solutions, will enable the storage of surplus electricity from renewables, enhancing grid balancing capacity, supporting electricity market operations and reducing investment risks for new wind and photovoltaic endeavors.
The project is part of the Green City Action Plan (GCAP), developed by the City of Novi Sad.
The project is innovative on both Serbian and regional levels
According to Matteo Colangeli, the project is innovative beyond Serbia and the region. “The renewable energy solutions for the heating of Novi Sad and the balancing of the country’s electricity system, as well as the scale of the project, are groundbreaking on an international level,” he stated.
Siniša Mali said the solar thermal facility in Novi Sad would reduce CO2 emissions by 17,350 tons per year and enable the direct connection of EPS’s system with district heating in Novi Sad.
The project is unique in Serbia because it also includes an electric boiler for balancing excess electricity
“Thermal energy produced in a sustainable manner will cover more than 20% of Novi Sad’s heating needs, which will replace the consumption of more than 16 million cubic meters of natural gas. The project is unique in Serbia because it also includes an electric boiler for balancing excess electricity, which will provide additional capacity for balancing energy produced in solar and wind plants,” Dubravka Đedović Handanović stressed.
According to Nenad Barac, the project positions Novi Sad as a green city, utilizing cutting-edge technologies for sustainable and efficient heat energy supply.
Thermal energy storage and heat pumps are the topic number one in the EU. The Balkan region’s largest solar thermal system for the preparation of sanitary hot water using solar energy is installed in the Serbian city of Pančevo, while a solar thermal project is under development in Kosovo*.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
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