Golden weld for heat network
The green ring road, part of the Dordrecht Thermal Network, has been fully completed since 28 March 2019 thanks to the last weld, also known as the 'golden weld'.
The last weld is special because it cannot be controlled from the inside. Precisely for this reason, its application requires even more attention and precision than before. The golden weld was symbolically sealed on 28 March by alderman Rik van der Linden in a construction site of A.Hak. With the underground heating system, the Dordrecht heat network can continue to grow. Van der Linden calls it a new milestone for Dordrecht in making the city more sustainable. ‘Our municipality is at the forefront of the construction of a heat network in urban areas. We are very proud of that.’
The heat network is more than 22 kilometres long and has been built in about six years. Arjan ten Elshof, HVC's Director of Renewable Energy, would like to thank all the parties who contributed to the project. ‘Not only the people who engineered the main grid inside their offices, but also the people who have been working outside, laying the pipes. It's a tough job, sometimes in difficult circumstances. I have a lot of appreciation for that.’
In Dordrecht there are now about 4,700 home equivalents connected to the heat network. By the end of 2019 there will be about 6,000. Ten Elshof: ‘This will reduce CO2 emissions by 6,000 tonnes. This can be compared to the CO2 reduction of more than 35,000 solar panels.’
Looking back
With the footage below we look back to August 2016 when A.Hak extended the heat conduction under the busy traffic square at the Sumatraplein to Oranjepark.
Work on the heat network in Dordrecht.
Working in built-up environment
Laying heat pipelines in the built-up environment: in the future this will happen more and more often. Project manager Kees Hoogstraten is setting up such a project in Heerhugowaard. ‘Installing a pipeline is one thing. The trick is to know how to do this without unnecessarily frustrating the environment.’
Heat network Alkmaar
In order to make better use of the opportunities for sustainable energy supply, municipalities, housing corporations and waste and energy company HVC are expanding the Alkmaar heat network.