Sustainable heating and cooling by UTES - Oostelijke Handelskade Amsterdam

Challenge:
Sustainable heating and cooling for the Oostelijke Handelskade project:

  • Passenger terminal, office buildings, hotel, arts centre and apartments
  • Various energy demand patterns
  • Heat and cold demand 8.2 MW and 8.3 MW respectively
  • Initiators: City of Amsterdam, Nuon, Novem.

Solution:
Centralized aquifer thermal energy storage system in combination with decentralized heat pumps.

  • Balancing supply and demand of thermal energy:
    1. within each building
    2. between the buildings
    3. using aquifer storage
  • Seasonal storage of surplus heat and cold
  • Heat pump capacity 6.5 MW, two warm and two cold wells (total flow rate 500 m³/h)
  • Use of surface water to balance the system thermally.

Results:

  • Energy saving 50% as compared to conventional heating and cooling system
  • Reduction of energy losses due to low temperature heating and high temperature cooling
  • Investment and operation by utility company (Nuon)
  • Energy rates in conformity with conventional system
  • Temporary surplus of cold:
    • passenger terminal: occupancy different from prognosis, thermal insulation sub-optimal
    • project still under construction (status 2002)

Key data Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage System (project fully operational):

Heating capacity ATES 4.060 kW
Heat delivered by storage 2.760 MWh
Cooling capacity ATES 4.060 KW
Cold delivered by cold storage 2.290 MWh
Maximum flow rate groundwater winter 500 m3/h
Maximum flow rate groundwater summer 500 m3/h
Pumped quantity winter 400.000 m3
Pumped quantity summer 330.000 m3
Number of warm wells 2
Number of cold wells 2
Aquifer depth 90 – 180 m b.s.