The sun was shining high and bright when Denmark's first CSP plant was opened in Thisted on Thursday 11 October.

The plant is a 500kW pilot project installed at Thisted Varmeforsyning, a district heating distributor which has won national and international recognition for being a pioneer in the field of producing emission free district heating.

The system is based on concentrated solar power (CSP) technology where parabolic shaped mirrors concentrate the sun's rays on an insulated pipe where water is pumped through and heated. The parabolic troughs use a custom designed sun tracking technology, where a computer calculates and calibrates the troughs into the required position for receiving the optimal radiation of sunrays throughout the day.

Facts about the CSP plant in Thisted:

  • The system consists of 144m parabolic shaped mirrors
  • Has an aperture area of 830m2
  • Heats water to 140°C
  • Supplies around 500MWh a year for the district heating production

Aalborg CSP's system for district heating is an add-on unit which can be connected to any plant producing district heating. The concentrated solar power system can be attached as a means to reduce emissions or ensure stability of production costs for bio and fossil fueled plants.