The old industrial buildings in Nydalen north of Oslo is the last decades has been replaced by modern buildings, where institutions such as BI, Statnett and local security services and have moved in.
When new Nydalen was built, selected developer Avantor using geothermal, heat pumps and cooling with geobrønner and heat exchange against walk.
This was seen as groundbreaking technology was highlighted as a model internationally, and received support from Enova.
Fears fish mortality
Now, however, stricter environmental standards for emission of hot water in the Aker River, to avoid killing trout and salmon, make your project a loss drains for Avantor.
the problem started after Avantor and its wholly owned subsidiary Nydalen energy in 2011 applied to expand energy plant.
When would, including building a new refrigeration plant of 13.5 MW, also it with heat exchange against walk.
Strict building regulations and many data centers have in fact done that it is now used almost as much energy for cooling as for heating in Nydalen.
Norway Water Resources and energy Directorate (NVE) approved the application and gave permission to raise the temperature of the river by up to 0.7 degrees. It was not given any limit to how warm the river could be.
Got upper limit
So put Nydalen Energy started building the plant, was completed in April 2014.
in the meantime, in 2013, NVE adopted requirement that walk not can be used for cooling when the river is warmer than 22 degrees, for the sake of salmon and trout in the river .
NYDALEN ENERGIS PLANT
- Has two energy centers. Total installed capacity in the district heating plant: ca. 29 MW.
- Total installed capacity in remote cooling: 13,5MW
- Withdrawing water from Akerselva: 535 liters per second.
- Total energy supply (heat): ca. 30 GWh per year.
50 percent of energy used for heating and cooling of buildings in Nydalen, produced locally by Nydalen Energy.
Renewables ratio is 75%, or 95% of the production stream to heat pumps counted as renewable.
About trout over longer exposed to temperature of 24.7 degrees or more, it is considered namely as deadly.
The salmon can tolerate more, between 27 and 28 degrees. High temperature also means that these species grow more slowly.
In 2014, the measured water temperatures of up to 25.5 degrees in Akerselva at Nydalen.
About the temperature additionally increases with two degrees as a result of heat dumping, would the temperature could reach 27.5 ° C.
NVE wrote in his explanation that they have assumed a precautionary principle, since there is little documentation on how high temperatures can kill fish.
County Governor of Oslo and Akershus in a separate decision, in July this year, set the same requirements.
– felted
CEO Roy Frivoll Nydalen Energy was very surprised by the decision by NVE.
– This is what we are simply nonsensical. The river is naturally 25 degrees some days, the summers with tropical nights. And who are we to be able to cool when it’s over 22 degrees, he says to TU.
The decision applies not only to the new center, but for the entire concession.
– What we have been allowed to deliver in 10-15 years in the first panel , we thus suddenly not allowed anymore, says Frivoll.
– But will not heat dumping affect populations of trout?
– Just at the point where the discharge occurs. But it is not detected any significant impact on these temperaturutvekslingene. Although mixing into hot water, it absorbed just below. Moreover, says the trout in the river when it is demonstrably higher temperature. The point is that the then pulls to places where it flows into colder water. We have never observed fish kills or some drawbacks with the solution here, says Frivoll.
Took old rights
He stressed that Aker River has been used for cooling for a long time, of industrial companies now large set is closed. Nydalen Energy acquired those rights.
Christiania Spigerverk, which laid down its production in Nydalen in 2010, for example, had permission to raise the water temperature by up to 2 degrees precisely where Nydalen Energy now emit its warmth. They had no upper limit for the water temperature in the river.
Frivoll says that the overall impact on the Aker River from the new center will be larger than previously.
– We think it’s bad that the rights they have had since ancient times is suddenly torn away. It says something about our predictability and how they must think that private developer to come when one is subjected to such public risk. We have gained international recognition as one of the major environmental technological solutions, and then plucked it away from us again overnight, he said.
– Makes development unprofitable
– But you should not assume that environmental regulations become more stringent as the years go?
– to an extent. We understand that there are new requirements for cleaning pipes and whatever. But there is a difference between that and turning your legs under all that you are doing, says Frivoll.
In order to fulfill the requirement limit of 22 degrees, Nydalen Energy build two tall cooling tower at the end of the new heating plant the river and walking path along the river.
The towers will be over five meters high, and costs according Frivoll totaling about 15 million. It will account for about 15 percent of the new energy panel’s total cost, approximately NOK 100 million.
– Had we known what we now know, did not have the new energy center has been built. It had not been profitable with the decision that is now available. Then it would have instead been traditional solutions in each building, with cooling power, dry coolers and traditional solutions that are less environmentally friendly, says Frivoll.
If the two cooling towers (gas coolers) are built, they will together spend about 350 kW power when running at full power.
– Impossible with energy wells
It will according Frivoll not be possible to use energy wells to ensure the cooling load.
– The original energy center has 200 energy wells. If we were to compensate this with wells, we had had a thousand wells. The effects are too great. It would impound area equivalent to several football fields. So large areas we have not, he said.
Frivoll think the proposed solution is very environmentally friendly.
– The options are much worse, not only economically, but also environmentally and aesthetically, he said.
the county governor writes in its decision that the limit of 22 degrees is needed as a safety margin in case of human error.
– We are probably vulnerable to one here takes more account of symbolic value and precautionary principle in that it is precisely this river, in the middle of Oslo, says Frivoll.
– So you do not think it would have been the same outcome this was an unknown river in another part of the country?
– no, there would probably not received the same attention, and the opinions of the authorities would have been different, says Frivoll.
PST and Statnett
there is an emergency measure for the cooling system, and it is to go over to use cooling water from the drinking water system.
However, if the solution were to fail, or at droughts and lack of drinking water, would data rooms may overheat and buildings had to be abandoned because of overheating, points Nydalen Energy’s appeal of NVE’s decision.
Petroleum and energy (MPE) has not yet processed the appeal but gave the decision suspensive effect to the appeal is decided. Thus, the limit of 22 degrees has not yet entered into force.
Ministry justified the suspensive effect of the Nydalen Energi supplies cooling to “important social institutions that Statnett and Police security service, “and that these are particularly dependent on cooling to their computer room.
As part of the appeal has Nydalen Energy gained Norwegian Energy to make a note of the Ministry of temperature measurements in Akerselva from summer 2014.
the paper concludes that the temperature drops down into the river. While the highest temperature in the upper course of the river, at the end of Maridalsvannet was 27.0 degrees, was the only 25.5 degrees at the start of Nydalen.
The reason why the temperature drops, can according to the note being inflows of surface water and groundwater. Thus mean Frivoll NVE and the county governor has exaggerated the risk of fish kills.
– The report was surprising. It’s a totally changes the conditions for all logic that is previously assumed from NVE and others about how temperature impacts to the river was, says Frivoll.
Dismissing criticism
Senior Adviser Terje Wivestad at County Governor of Oslo and Akershus reject the report from Norwegian Energy that river gets colder farther down because of groundwater inflow, making the decision is made on an incorrect basis.
He believes this was something the County and NVE have known to.
– We have particularly focused on the negative effects on a limited area, where the warm water dumped. But we have also supported us on papers from the University of Oslo, University of Oslo, that this will provide an increase for the entire river. It is clear that the temperature will slow down in the river, he said.
– But when it gets too hot, will the fish go somewhere where the water is colder?
– why we have allowed heat emission. We have said that the river can be used within certain conditions, but when you know that the fish receive avoidance and that the population of trout and salmon can be reduced, so the University writes in his report, we believe one should use the precautionary principle. It is true that we have not experienced fish kills in summer 2014 when the water measured 25.5 degrees. But we are concerned that when to add two degrees atop it and get 27 to 28 degrees, begins even salmon to get trouble. When we believe that one should use other known technology within cooling solution that short period the river can not be used, says Wivestad.
– This must Avantor expect
– Avantor believes they built the entire project based on this heat exchange, the rights are acquired from Christiania Spigerverk who lived there before, and that the requirement from the authorities will have dramatic consequences that are not in line with the disadvantages to be avoided?
– When the government gives permission with conditions, there may be terms which give an economic cost to the developer. It’s nothing new. We are aware of the economic conditions, yet we have undertaken a cost / benefit analysis, where we think life in the river must be safeguarded. This means a developer must expect. It is no different than others who have already invested and that will get tighter.
– Avantor believes that there was something in the original licensing decision by NVE in 2012 that gave the basis that it would get an upper temperature limit?
– You did not have documentation on the effect of heat dumping in Aker River, and we recommended when NVE imposing Avantor to make a report on action. Then came UiO report, which provided new knowledge. Such process has been, Avantor has been very aware of the concern related to the temperature of the river by heat dumping and aware of the risks of stricter requirements. The comments from user groups Oslomarka Fiskeadministrasjon, district Bymiljøetaten in Oslo and from the County are all in agreement that this here it is important to be careful and make demands. This should Avantor taken into account in their planning of cooling the solution, said Wivestad.
New environmental times
He stressed that Christiania Nail Works concession to heat dumping Akerselva was given at a time when the river was used to discharge sewage and chemicals.
– the river was seen in an entirely different way than we do today. Today the goal is that it will be used more for recreational purposes, recreation and fishing and, according to EU Water Framework Directive have good ecological status. When Spigerverket let down in 2010, we thought that the new license should be based on the revised objectives of the Aker River, and take into account the large investments mainstream society has done to improve the river’s condition. I mean Avantor should have been able to orient themselves in relation to this and taken environmental responsibility, says Wivestad.
He cites solution to cooling and heating needs of development at Vulkan, the Food Hall and Bellona office by the Aker River farther down, as examples.
– You of storing excess heat from the buildings in the summer in the ground that are brought into use during the cold season. To dump heat for Walk is really unnecessary waste of resources, says Wivestad.
– Avantor believes it gets ugly building two cooling towers right on the hiking trail?
– Cooling towers will be built on the west side of the Aker River, up towards ring 3. there is already a tower of 28 meters. The towers will only be in operation for perhaps a few weeks, during the summer, says Wivestad.
Emergency
He believes the towers in any case should have been built for the sake of preparedness.
– If we get a drought like in 2006 when the water level dropped to 250 liters per second in seven months because of drinking regard to Oslo via Maridalsvannet, and they have a need for 530 liters per second, what do they then? There may be times when they need to use the cooling tower breakdown or servicing. I find it odd that they have not already built cooling towers or planned alternative cooling, but instead take the risk, says Wivestad.
He does not deny that the case could have had a different outcome if the river was in no man’s land.
– You could say that Aker River is a small river systems. But it has very large user interests and a rich biodiversity. Walk is probably in a unique position with a view to applying the precautionary principle and be restrictive. This is right, when we look at how much you have invested in Akerselva to lift it up to where it is now, he said.
– Have backups
Roy Frivoll denies that cooling towers should be built of readiness, and points out that they have already installed backup system of drinking water supply.
– In addition, all critical lessees computer room also Town water backup. This, we inform all clients must have, in the event such as pipe rupture in the street, he said.
Moreover, the energy company devote to supply computer room above offices and allow temperature changes over shorter periods, underscores he said.
the reason that both the County and energy and watercourse authorities NVE and OED has considered the matter, is that the both come under the energy and the pollution control legislation.
OED says that the hearing the case, and therefore can not comment on it.
NVE would not comment on criticism from Nydalen Energy, and also show that the case is to appeal.
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