It is a sizeable machine, the new main heat exchanger at the Esbjerg Power Station. Colloquially known as ESV3, it converts hot steam from an electrical boiler – produced by local company Boilerworks – into district heating. The electrical boiler is ideally powered by windmills and includes a rather large heating element, capable of converting water into steam which is then fed to the heat exchanger. Making good use of the return water from the district heating system, the steam is then cooled from app. 400 to just 80 degrees Celsius. The process infers an energy reduction which benefits the entire local heat network.

“The entire system is state-of-the-art, which makes it possible to distribute excess power locally as district heating. In the Esbjerg area alone, we are able to generate 30 MW of district heating. It’s very handy, because Denmark is often quite windy, meaning that we generate too much wind power. Some excess power can be contracted by Denmark’s neighbouring countries, but this is generally not good for business. The new system makes it possible to make use of a greater deal of the energy locally or store it for later,” explains LBP project manager, Anders Hovmand.

The modernisation of the Esbjerg Power Station infers considerable gains both financially and in terms of maintenance and operation, since it provides a heightened degree of flexibility, not least in peak load periods.

LBP Engineering’s work at the Esbjerg Power Station has included process planning support as well as handling of safety and operations management. On top of this, legal requirements for cable pulling and routing have included a considerable amount of paper work. This has resulted in close ongoing interactions with both Boilerworks and Ørsted.

“Throughout the process, our cooperation has been uncomplicated and highly constructive. We have participated ever since the design phase, taking part in deciding the principles of regulation and so forth. We have also handled the detailed design including functional descriptions, I/O lists and all sorts of matters. Finally, we have managed the on-going supervision of electrical installations and the commissioning of the entire system, in close cooperation with the operations team,” says Anders Hovmand.