FuSE – Full Spectrum Solar Energy

Challenge

In order to achieve the goal of the green transition, a significant challenge is to make the energy system more flexible with the possibility of storing and producing energy when necessary. In those parts of the district heating network where surplus heat from e.g. industry is not connected, biomass such as wood chips is currently used to produce district heating. It is not a sustainable solution in the long run, as biomass will eventually be in short supply, and nature will suffer from this.

Solution

The Full Spectrum Solar Energy (FuSE) project will contribute to the Danish CO2 reductions by producing energy in the form of electricity and heat from a broad spectrum of the sun’s natural energy. The project combines solar collectors, large-scale high-temperature heat storage and an organic rankine cycle capable of converting the stored heat into electricity and district heating.

FuSE, when introduced to the market, will form a significant part of the “missing link” in the green transition and offer cost-effective storage and production of electricity as well as district heating.

Thanks to the ability to store energy in large quantities, the system allows an even production profile. FuSE also provides the ability to utilize the storage system for releasing the energy during peak hours between 19 and 23 in the evening and 6 and 8 in the morning. The system will be able to cover the daily leveling of photovoltaic (PV) systems and help stabilize fluctuations in energy supply from wind power caused by periods of low wind.

The project builds on previous positive experiences – this means in practice that the technologies used have already been developed, tested and demonstrated individually or partially in combination.

The project meets the advanced requirements for energy storage on a grid scale in both Denmark and Europe, based on energy system analysis. The FuSE system can be used independently of existing energy production but can also be used to compensate for off-peak energy overproduction, for example from future energy islands or from areas with a high capacity of intermittent sources of electricity.

Furthermore, electricity can be stored in the FuSE system’s storage tanks – thus the system can become the first commercially available, cost-effective FuSE plant with power storage technology that can be built worldwide.

Effect

In this project, the plant has the potential to replace up to 1/3 of the biomass used at SK Forsyning.