Belgium’s Flanders region is set to add four kilometres of new district heating networks.
This expansion comes as a result of the most recent call for projects by Minister of Energy Zuhal Demir and the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA).
The two projects receiving significant support are initiatives led by electricity network operator Fluvius and the Limburg-based company, Hita.
Fluvius will be recovering waste heat from a sewage treatment plant operated by Aquafin in Antwerp and using it to heat ten residential buildings, three school buildings, a sports hall, and an IT service.
Hita, on the other hand, will construct an above-ground deep geothermal power plant at the AZ Turnhout St. Jozef. The geothermal plant, with a capacity of 10,000 kW, will supply green heat to district heating networks in Turnhout. Geothermal energy is harnessed from the Earth’s crust by pumping warm water to the surface, transferring its energy to a district heating system and delivering it to consumers.
The other approved projects primarily combine cold and heat storage with large-scale heat pumps or low-temperature district heating networks to provide gas-free heating and cooling all year round.
The next call for green heat projects will be running from 12 September 2023 to 25 September 2023, with a provided budget of 10 million euros.
