Helsinki taps cold seawater for innovative district heating project

InfrastructureNews

As part of the energy transition, Helsinki is planning to tap cold water in the Baltic Sea as a source of energy for district heating. Under Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen, the city is planning the project which it estimates will cover roughly 40% of its heating needs.

Helen Oy power utility will join forces with Spanish construction company Acciona and its local counterpart YIT Oyj to build a tunnel to the seabed and heat pumps to generate electricity for district heating.

Helsinki’s district heating system is currently powered by two coal-fired and two gas-fired plants, with more than 90% of buildings in the city connected to the system. As part of the green push, the city has to completely eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the system by 2035.

Finland will ban the use of coal for energy production in 2029, leaving less time for Helsinki to retool its district heating system. That is why the city launched a competition, offering EUR 1 million for the best solution for decarbonising the system.

Besides heat pumps, Helsinki is considering waste heat from the industry, deep geothermal and other energy sources. Paul Voss from Euroheat & Power industry group pointed out that use of coal and natural gas as fuels is not in line with EU’s climate goals. He pointed out that Helsinki will be coal-free in roughly ten years and concluded that a similar trend is expected in other parts of the EU.

(Photo credit. Jaakko Kemppainen / Unsplash)