The plant will receive waste heat from a new and more efficient coal-fired plant, and it will replace up to 1,000 out-of-date, coal-fired plants and will save the city from burning 300,000 tonnes of coal annually, reducing CO2 emissions by 500,000 tonnes.
Five years in Beijing
The history of district heating in Denmark goes back over a century, and its know-how is in demand worldwide – not least in China, which is COWI's largest market for these services.
In addition to Harbin, where COWI has been involved in evaluating the design and offering technical consultation, COWI is also involved in a five-year project for the Beijing District Heating Group – one of the world's largest district heating companies.
The city wants to expand and modernise its existing district heating network according to western European standards. For COWI, that means improving the current system's design and carrying out quality control to ensure that it operates stably.
From mega to minute“A project of this magnitude is full of technical and cultural challenges,” says project manager Søren K. Christensen, “but we're able to supply the full spectrum of consultancy services – from the overall plan to the minute details.
And thanks to COWI's long history in China, we've established the right personal connections – something you don't get far without.”
For Christensen, the benefits of building district heating networks are twofold: “First of all, we're creating a better environment, and secondly, these projects are often on a magnitude we rarely get to work on, and that's an invaluable source of experience.”
By Eva Isager
Published: 05.03.2009
