Brewing is a very suitable application for solar thermal systems, because of the relatively low temperatures used in several production phases.
In the brewery of Flecks in Frohnleiten, a solar thermal system with Savosolar collectors is used to support the hot water production required by the brewing process. The heat from the collectors is stored in four 3,000 litre water tanks for later use in the brewing process. The mounted collectors also act as a rain shield.
Veolia, a global corporation with focus on transport, waste, water and energy built and operate a new district heating network for the city of Voreppe, France.
For this solar installation, the space available for collectors was limited to a structure in midair between two buildings. Having a high solar yield was important criteria. Consequently, Veolia chose the well-designed Savosolar solution and its Savo 15 DG flat plate collectors being the most efficient in the market.
This installation in Voreppe was Savosolar’s first turn-key delivery for district heating in France. It raised interest among the district heating sector showing the potential of solar thermal as a clean heat production.
This solar thermal plant, the largest in Europe for industrial process, will deliver on average 4,000 MWh/year of heat. It will cover nearly 32% of the heated water need for the steam generation in the local paper mill. With the very high solar yield – more than 1,000 kWh/m2 – this solar thermal field is the first of its kind in the world due to Savosolar high efficiency solar collectors installed on a single-axis tracking system, manufactured and installed for Savosolar by Arcelormittal, Project Exosun. 66 tilting structures, each carrying four 16 m2 collectors, follow the sun from morning to evening and maximize the heat production.
The project was developed and financed by NewHeat and Savosolar acted as the EPC contractor. Meaning, Savosolar designed the whole system, delivered the solar collectors, and realized the installation with local French companies. This installation will be a reference for the huge growing market of heat-as-a-service for industrial clients in France and world-wide.
Lolland forsyning’s district heating plant in Søllested is located on the island of Lolland and was the first installation, where Savosolar’s double glazed collectors were used. The double glazing reduces heat losses through the glass side of collector and offers a higher efficiency, especially at higher operation temperature levels and during the darker months of the year. Søllested district heating plant has ca. 500 customers and also uses a 5 MW straw boiler and an oil burner to produce its heat.
The collector field in Søllested has a so-called hybrid field, with both single and double glazed collectors. The single glazed collectors are in the cold end of the collector rows and increase the low temperature as rapidly as possible, while the double glazed collectors are located in the warm side of the collector rows where it is more important to reduce the heat losses.
In Søllested, Savosolar was faced with a special challenge since the customer’s land has a sewerage pipe running through it. Since the owner of the sewer pipe needs to be able to access it in case of maintenance, Savosolar supplied a collector field which both optimised the use of the available land, while still providing access to the sewer pipe
