Waste heat from Köping heats Kolsva
The 12 km transit line from Köping will supply Kolsva with district heating. FVB has been responsible for the design of the line and three pump stations. (Photo: VME).
“The new district heating pipeline between Köping and Kolsva is good for both the environment and the economy. It also benefits local companies, who can supply more waste heat,” says Robert Johansson, Project Manager at VME. FVB has been responsible for the design and construction.
The 150 customers in Kolsva have had district heating since 1999, which has been produced from a local pellet boiler and a buffer boiler with oil. Stricter environmental requirements on the old-fashioned pellet boiler along with a major need for reinvestment led VME (Västra Mälardalens Energi och Miljö) to look for other options for district heating production.
“In 2017, we constructed the district heating systems between Köping and Arboga to better be able to use the waste heat from the Yara and Nordkalk facilities. This connection has worked very well, and with a line to Kolsva, even more customers could be heated using waste heat,” says Robert Johansson.
A preliminary study also showed that it would be beneficial for VME to build a 12 km transit line to Kolsva compared with having its own production there. Financially, it was a good deal. Köping currently has some of the lowest district heating prices in Sweden, and by connecting the district heating network with Kolsva, VME can keep district heating prices at a stable level. It is also an investment that is good for the environment.
“The Kolsva line replaces two pellet boilers and two oil boilers, which is better for the environment. An additional environmental benefit is that we no longer need to have staff doing daily inspections of these boilers,” says Robert Johansson.
The new project broke ground in August 2020, and it went quickly from there. The line at DN 150 was completed in April 2021.
“We wanted it ready by the summer so that we could use the waste heat,” says Robert Johansson.
In 2020, just over half of the district heating production came from waste heat from the companies Yara and Nordkalk, whose facilities are located in Köping. The rest came from biofuels.
FVB has overseen design and construction of the transit line, as well as the design of three pump stations. FVB was an obvious choice for VME.
“We have worked with FVB for many years and are very satisfied with them. We are a smaller organization, so it is especially important for us to get help from experienced consultants for major assignments, such as the extension between Köping and Kolsva,” says Robert Johansson, who concludes:
“Along with FVB and the contractor Lindesberg Grus och Maskin, we have also developed good relations with the property and landowners, which is key, both when laying down the pipeline and in the future when work needs to be done on the pipeline.”
For more information:
Richard Hjerpe, 019-30 50 39
